After 50 years
Duke of Kent resigns from Scottish Guard
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An era is coming to an end: The Duke of Kent is giving up an important honorary title in the British Army. Another royal is taking over. The reasons for the change are not known.
For five decades, Edward, Duke of Kent, was Colonel of the Scots Guards. Now the 88-year-old cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II is handing over the important honorary title to another royal. Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh and youngest brother of King Charles III, will now take over the role in the prestigious regiment. Buckingham Palace announced this.
On Sunday, the Duke of Kent will attend the annual commemoration of the Scots Guards in London, a statement said. It will be his last appearance as colonel. He has held the post since 1974 and regularly visited the regiment. In 2008, he also travelled to Iraq and Afghanistan to meet members of the force.
“Serving as Colonel of the Scots Guards since 1974, the longest tenure anyone has served in that role, has been a great honour and one that will always fill me with great joy,” the 88-year-old is quoted as saying in the statement. “Over these years I have seen the work of the Scots Guards in times of peace and war and have witnessed their bravery, selfless courage and devotion to duty.” The Scots Guards is a regiment of the British Army. It is one of the five personal regiments of King Charles III.
Duke of Kent is the oldest “working royal”
It is not known why Edward, the Duke of Kent, is retiring from the role of Colonel of the Scots Guards. It is possible that he is stepping down because of his age. The Duke of Kent was born in 1935 as the first child of Prince George, the younger brother of Queen Elizabeth II's father, King George VI.
Even at the age of 88, he is the oldest of the ten working royals and still regularly attends public events. In addition to King Charles III and his wife Queen Camilla, other working royals include Sophie and Edward, Duchess and Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Anne and her husband Timothy Laurence, Princess Kate and Prince William, and Princess Alexandra, the sister of the Duke of Kent.
