'I'm past my sell-by date': How Prince Philip chose to retire from royal duties 'so his growing frailty wouldn't be exposed in public'

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Prince Philip retired at 95 because he feared looking increasing frail in public and admitted to close friends in his typically frank style: 'I'm past my sell-by date'.

The Duke of Edinburgh's irreverent view on his decision to step down from royal engagements from the Autumn was revealed as he made the sudden announcement yesterday.

His life-long friend and relative, Lady Myra Butter, 92, told the Mail: ‘He always used to say, quite openly, I’m past my sell-by date'. 

And yesterday The Duke of Edinburgh made himself and a crowd of guests roar after mathematician Sir Michael Atiyah stopped him at a St James's Palace event to say: 'I'm sorry to hear you're standing down', to which he replied: 'Well I can't stand up much longer'.

His jokes are indicative of Philip’s train of thought, which came to a conclusion yesterday after long discussions with the Queen and other members of the family, including his grandchildren, who told him: ‘Go for it, Grandpa!’ 

Philip remains in good health but is getting increasingly frail and understandably can have his energy sapped by the 200-or-so public appearances he makes every year on his own or with his wife.

Decision: The 95-year-old Duke of Edinburgh's well-earned retirement this autumn was announced at a top secret emergency meeting called by Buckingham Palace yesterday and told friends regularly: 'I'm past my sell-by date'

Team Windsor: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry and the Earl of Wessex will now rally round the Queen and  'step up' as Prince Philip announces his retirement from Royal duties 

Irreverent Duke: Prince Philip has taken a typically light-hearted view on his own retirement yesterday, sending mathematician Sir Michael Atiyah into hysterics after he said he was sorry he was standing down and he replied: 'Well I can't stand up for much longer'

Typical style: The Duke of Edinburgh made himself and a crowd of guests roar with laughter just an hour after announcing he will stop all public royal duties at the age of 95

Royal staff from all over the country leave Buckingham Palace after hearing the news of Philip's retirement

His announcement that the much loved 95-year-old royal, who will celebrate 70 years of marriage to the Queen in November, will no longer carry out public engagements from this autumn came as aides insisted there was no grounds for concern about his health.

'Team Windsor' will step up to take on Prince Philip's duties as he prepares to end 70 years of royal engagements.

Younger members of the Royal family, including Prince William and Prince Harry, will now 'rally around' and support the Queen with future events, after the Duke of Edinburgh revealed his decision to retire. 

The announcement that the much-loved duke, who will celebrate 70 years of marriage to the Queen in November, will stop carrying out public engagements from this autumn came as aides insisted there were no concerns about his health. 

Palace sources said Philip’s decision was a personal one, made by him alone. One aide said: ‘He is almost 96, you can see he is in good form and good spirits, but ultimately only he knows how he feels.

‘It is very much his personal choice to step back now.’ On a momentous day for the Royal Family, sources told the Mail:

• The Queen’s public schedule will continue as normal and her dedication to duty remained ‘undiminished’;
• Senior royals including Prince Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Andrew will undertake more duties with their mother in a new strategy dubbed ‘Team Windsor’; n Younger members of the Royal Family, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, will be expected to ‘step up to the mark’;
• Philip will remain as patron, president or member of the 785 organisations he has links to – for as long as he is wanted;
• The duke quietly slipped out of London yesterday afternoon, catching a train from London’s Euston station to stay with friends in the North.

Speculation about an announcement regarding the duke began when the Mail revealed, in later editions of the newspaper yesterday and online, that members of the Queen’s household had been summoned to Buckingham Palace for an emergency staff meeting at 10am. About 550 staff were summoned by email, but three coachloads from Windsor got stuck in traffic and missed the briefing.

As television crews from around the world gathered outside the palace gates, several hundred long-standing members of staff congregated inside. In the historic red and gold Victorian ballroom they were addressed by the Queen’s private secretary, Sir Christopher Geidt.

According to a source, you could have heard a pin drop – but there was no great surprise at the news.

A palace spokesman said Philip will attend all the engagements he committed to between now and August, both individually and alongside the Queen. There are 15 in his diary for this month alone. Palace insiders stressed the decision was not being taken on medical grounds. ‘That was the first question asked and the clear answer was “no”,’ a source said. ‘This really is down to his age. The Duke is still working 30 years beyond when most people retire.’

Back to work: Prince Philip and the Queen arrive at St James's Palace, London, for an Order of Merit service shortly after announcing his own retirement yesterday

Announcement: All staff from the royal household across Britain were called to London and taken to the Palace by bus to hear the news

Princess Anne drove herself to the Palace to see her mother and father ahead of the crucial meeting

Standing down: Prince Philip (pictured at Lords on Wednesday) is to retire from public royal duties at the age of 95 from the autumn and has the full support of the Queen

Senior courtiers told the Mail that Philip had been ruminating over his decision for several months after a particularly busy couple of years.

It is not in his nature to ‘quit’, but last year saw a busy programme of engagements to mark his wife’s 90th birthday, and the year before that the marking of her becoming the longest-serving British sovereign.

In 2012, the country celebrated the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, during which Philip was admitted to hospital with a urinary infection after being forced to stand in the rain for several hours. ‘It is something he has been thinking about for several months after a busy year,’ said one palace insider. ‘He has finally had time to draw breath and think about it.’

After long conversations with the Queen and other members of the family – including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who agreed to move down to London this autumn to take on more royal duties as a result – Philip made up his mind.

Aides say there will be ‘absolutely no change’ to the Queen’s schedule.

Sources say the monarch, who turned 91 last month, will continue to undertake solo public engagements. But Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Andrew, Princess Anne and the Earl and Countess of Wessex will accompany her to more official events. Palace insiders are referring to the new set-up as ‘Team Windsor’.

The news will also increase pressure on the younger members of the Royal Family – William, Kate and Harry – to do more. Philip carried out more days of public engagements last year – 110 – than Harry (86) or William (80). Bottom of the list was Kate, with just 63.

A source said: ‘The Queen is well used to doing engagements on her own. Equally, however, there is quite a bit of recent precedent with her doing engagements with family members, who aren’t the Duke of Edinburgh, and you will see more of that. It is also fair to say you will see other members of the Royal Family supporting and reinforcing the Queen’s official work.

‘We are going to see a kind of Team Windsor supporting the Queen.’

Royal couple: The 95-year-old Duke of Edinburgh's well-earned retirement was announced at a top secret emergency meeting called by Buckingham Palace. The Queen will continue as normal

Royal couple: Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace after their marriage ceremony at Westminster Abbey on November 20, 1947. 70 years on Philip is stepping back

Doting dad: Philip with his wife the Queen holding Prince Charles and Princess Anne in 1951 four years after they got married

Seventy years and 22,191 engagements: How Prince Philip has been the Queen's 'rock' since their fairytale wedding, becoming one of the hardest working royals well into his 90s 

The Duke of Edinburgh has been the Queen's steadfast companion for nearly 70 years.

Known for his no-nonsense approach and acerbic wit, Prince Philip is the longest-serving consort in British history and also the oldest serving partner of a reigning monarch.

The husband of one of the most famous women in the world, he is defined by his relationship to Elizabeth II and gave up a promising naval career to support his wife in her royal role.

While the Queen takes centre stage, Philip has always been one step behind, ready to lend a hand.

The Duke has had a profound effect on the development of the British monarchy and has been a moderniser of 'the Firm'.

The Duke of Edinburgh has been the Queen's steadfast companion for nearly 70 years and he has dedicated his life to supporting her - but has decided to step back from his

Philip has supported his wife throughout her reign. Pictured left at Buckingham Palace on December 8, 2016; right, in his regalia in 1958

The Queen and the Duke on a farm at their Balmoral estate to celebrate their Silver wedding anniversary in 1972

The Duke has immersed himself in national life but also served in the Armed Forces, left, in his naval uniform circa 1982; and right, on a boat in Malta in 1949

In private, he is head of the family. To the public, he is the irascible figure who speaks his mind despite the consequences - famed for his outrageous gaffes.

He once warned a group of Scottish students in China that they would become 'slitty-eyed'.

In a Glasgow factory, he pointed to a fusebox of loose wires and remarked that it looked like it had been installed by an 'Indian'.

He fought for Britain during the Second World War, serving with distinction in the Royal Navy.

As a younger man he was a good shot, a first-class polo player, accomplished sailor, enthusiastic cricketer and international four-in-hand carriage driver.

Hardworking and inquisitive, he has dedicated himself to national life for decades and even when he gave up some of his charitable associations when he was 90, he has still been associated with more than 800 charities.

Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark was born on the island of Corfu on June 10 1921 to Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenburg.

His early years were marked by upheaval after his family went into exile following a military coup in Greece which overthrew his uncle, King Constantine I.

George V, the Queen's grandfather, ordered the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Calypso to evacuate the family and Philip was carried to safety in a cot made from an orange box on December 1922, aged just 18 months.

His childhood lacked stability and he moved between relatives in France and Britain, and started studying at Cheam Prep School in 1928.

His parent split up and he rarely saw either of them - with his mother, who suffered from mental illlness, being confined to an asylum.

The Queen waves from the balcony of Buckingham Palace, with the Duke by her side, after her Coronation in June 1953

The Duke of Edinburgh glances over at Queen Elizabeth II as they stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace shortly after her Coronation

The couple pictured at the State Opening of Parliament in the House of Lords in 2014, which he has always attended and is likely to continue to do so

After spending a year at a school in Germany, he eventually went to Gordonstoun School in Morayshire.

Philip later joined the Royal Navy and, while a cadet, he caught the eye of a 13-year-old Princess Elizabeth - a distant cousin - when she visited the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth with her parents, the King and Queen.

During the Second World War, he saw active service from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean, and by 1945 was in Tokyo Bay as the Japanese surrendered.

He was mentioned in despatches for his service on battleship HMS Valiant in 1941.

Over the years his friendship with Princess Elizabeth grew and blossomed into love. In 1947, two years after the end of the war, the Princess married dashing, blond Philip in Westminster Abbey.

He renounced his Greek title and became a naturalised British subject, and was made Duke of Edinburgh by the King.

The Duke and the Princess had the first of their four children, Charles, now the Prince of Wales, in 1948 and Anne, now the Princess Royal, in 1950.

They initially enjoyed a simple married life during stays on the island of Malta, where the Duke was stationed with the Navy.

But their marital bliss changed forever when George VI died on February 6 1952 and Princess Elizabeth became Queen.

Philip - whose naval career had come to an end - had to a define a new role for himself as his wife diligently took to her duties as head of state.

He accompanied the Queen around the world on Commonwealth tours and state visits and across the UK.

He also undertook many solo royal engagements on his own, becoming involved with hundreds of organisations - often as a hands-on president, and continued to do so over the decades.

He set about modernising Buckingham Palace after being told to keep out of the Queen's official duties, and reorganised the Balmoral and Sandringham estates, as well as becoming ranger of Windsor Great Park.

'I tried to find useful things to do,' he said about starting a footman training programme at the Palace.

In 1956, he set up the Duke of Edinburgh's Award - inspired by his time at Gordonstoun and his mentor and headmaster Dr Kurt Hahn.

It has become one of the country's best-known youth self-improvement schemes, with million across the globe gaining their bronze, silver and gold awards.

The Duke takes a great interest in scientific and technological research and development, as well as the conservation of nature.

After a gap of 10 years, the Queen and Philip welcomed two more children - Andrew, now the Duke of York, in 1960, and Edward, now the Earl of Wessex, in 1964.

The Duke has been depicted as a tough but caring father.

Born at the family home, Mon Repos in Corfu Greece - allegedly on the kitchen table - on June 10 1921, Philip came to Britain when he was just one year old (pictured in July 2012)

Prince Philip of Greece (second left) with his schoolmates at the MacJannet American school in St Cloud, France in 1929

A keen sportsman, the young prince is pictured here at school during an athletics championship 

Philip waterskiis off Marmaris, Turkey, during the Mediterranean Fleet's summer cruise while serving on HMS Magpie in 1951

An accomplished sportsman, he played polo regularly until 1971 and then took up four-in-hand carriage driving, representing Britain at several European and world championships.

A qualified pilot, he gained his RAF wings in 1953, helicopter wings in 1956 and private pilot's licence in 1959. His love of the sea never waned, and he competing regularly at Cowes Regatta.

The Duke witnessed first-hand the troubles faced by the Windsors in the 1990s - from the scandal surrounding Sarah, Duchess of York - who was caught having her toes sucked by her financial adviser - to the fall out of Charles and Diana's War of the Waleses.

When the Princess of Wales died suddenly in a car crash in 1997, Philip joined Charles, Princes William and Harry, and Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, in the solemn procession behind her funeral cortege.

The Duke also helped the Queen through the deaths of both her mother and sister in the Golden Jubilee year of 2002.

He has enjoyed good health throughout much of his life - recovering from a blocked coronary artery in 2011 and a bladder infection in 2012 - the latter leading him to miss the majority of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

He continued to take part in fast-paced, dangerous carriage-driving events, competing at international level until the age of 85.

When Princess Diana died suddenly in a car crash in 1997, Philip joined Charles, William, Harry and the Princess's brother, Earl Spencer, in the solemn procession behind her funeral cortege

In August 2012, the Duke was treated for a bladder infection and spent five nights in hospital in Aberdeen and missed the opening of the Paralympic Games. He is pictured leaving the hospital

The Duke of Edinburgh is shown a number of bats by Dr Chinmay Gupte (second right) and John Stephenson (right), during a visit to Lord's cricket ground in London yesterday

When he turned 90 in June 2011 he insisted on no fuss, but the Queen bestowed on him a new title - Lord High Admiral, titular head of the Royal Navy.

It was a touching tribute to the man who given up his military career to support his wife, and devote himself to royal service.

A symbol of continuity within the monarchy and public life, the Duke of Edinburgh is the person the Queen relies upon above all others.

Philip's first ever private secretary Michael Parker, a friend from the Navy, once revealed: 'He told me the first day he offered me my job that his job, first, second and last was never to let her down.'

'I declare this thing open, whatever it is': The gaffe-prone Duke who often says what he shouldn't (but the public love him for it) 

At times witty, at other times, insensitive, Prince Philip has become known for being the most gaffe-prone member of the Royal Family, not shy of expressing his uncensored and often politically incorrect opinions on a variety of subjects. 

The Queen's 95-year-old husband, who has announced he will retire from royal duties in the Autumn, is renowned for his risque, off-the-cuff remarks while carrying out official engagements. 

From addressing Aborigines on a state visit to Australia in March 2002 and asking them if they 'still throw spears at one another', to asking singer Tom Jones if he 'gargled with pebbles' following the 1969 Royal Variety performance, his comments have been toe curling and hilarious in equal measures. 

 Here are some of them:

'British women can't cook' (in Britain in 1966).

'What do you gargle with, pebbles?' (speaking to singer Tom Jones after the 1969 Royal Variety Performance).

'I declare this thing open, whatever it is.' (on a visit to Canada in 1969).

'Everybody was saying we must have more leisure. Now they are complaining they are unemployed' (during the 1981 recession).

In a state visit to Australia in March 2002, the Prince asked Aborigines: 'Do you still throw spears at each other?' Cultural park manager William Brim replied: 'No, we don't do that any more'

'If it has got four legs and it is not a chair, if it has got two wings and it flies but is not an aeroplane, and if it swims and it is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it.' (at a 1986 World Wildlife Fund meeting).

'It looks like a tart's bedroom.' (on seeing plans for the Duke and Duchess of York's house at Sunninghill Park in 1988)

'Yak, yak, yak; come on get a move on.' (shouted from the deck of Britannia in Belize in 1994 to the Queen who was chatting to her hosts on the quayside). 

'We didn't have counsellors rushing around every time somebody let off a gun, asking 'Are you all right? Are you sure you don't have a ghastly problem?' You just got on with it.' (about the Second World War commenting on modern stress counselling for servicemen in 1995).

'How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to get them through the test?' (to a driving instructor in Oban, Scotland, during a 1995 walkabout).

'If a cricketer, for instance, suddenly decided to go into a school and batter a lot of people to death with a cricket bat, which he could do very easily, I mean, are you going to ban cricket bats?' (in 1996, amid calls to ban firearms after the Dunblane shooting).

In one of his most infamous outbursts, the Duke of Edinburgh said that British students would become 'slitty-eyed' if they stayed in China. The state visit in 1986 became renowned for the incident, after he advised the youngsters: 'If you stay here much longer you will all be slitty-eyed'. In a BBC documentary to mark his 90th birthday, he remarked: 'I'd forgotten about it. But for one particular reporter who overheard it, it wouldn't have come out'

'Bloody silly fool!' (in 1997, referring to a Cambridge University car park attendant who did not recognise him).

'It looks as if it was put in by an Indian.' (pointing at an old-fashioned fusebox in a factory near Edinburgh in 1999).

'Deaf? If you are near there, no wonder you are deaf.' (to young deaf people in Cardiff, in 1999, referring to a school's steel band).

'They must be out of their minds.' (in the Solomon Islands, in 1982, when he was told that the annual population growth was 5%).

'You are a woman, aren't you?' (In Kenya, in 1984, after accepting a small gift from a local woman).

'If you stay here much longer, you'll all be slitty-eyed.' (to British students in China, during the 1986 state visit).

In 2013, spotting pretty Hannah Jackson, 25, on a trip with his wife to Bromley in Kent, the elderly royal turned to the policeman standing next to her and gestured towards her eye-catching peplum-style red dress which had a zip running the length of its front. 'I would get arrested if I unzipped that dress!' he exclaimed

'Your country is one of the most notorious centres of trading in endangered species in the world.' (in Thailand, in 1991, after accepting a conservation award).

'Oh no, I might catch some ghastly disease.' (in Australia, in 1992, when asked to stroke a Koala bear).

'You can't have been here that long - you haven't got a pot belly.' (to a Briton in Budapest, Hungary, in 1993).

'Aren't most of you descended from pirates?' (to a wealthy islander in the Cayman Islands in 1994).

'You managed not to get eaten, then?' (suggesting to a student in 1998 who had been trekking in Papua New Guinea that tribes there were still cannibals).

In Germany, in 1997, he welcomed German Chancellor Helmut Kohl at a trade fair as 'Reichskanzler' - the last German leader who used the title was Adolf Hitler.

Royal quip: The Duke of Edinburgh told this Filipino nurse at Luton and Dunstable University Hospital her country must be 'half empty', because so many of her compatriots have come to the UK to work for the NHS

'You're too fat to be an astronaut.' (to 13-year-old Andrew Adams who told Philip he wanted to go into space. Salford, 2001).

'I wish he'd turn the microphone off.' (muttered at the Royal Variety Performance as he watched Sir Elton John perform, 2001).

'Do you still throw spears at each other?' (In Australia in 2002 talking to a successful aborigine entrepreneur).

'You look like a suicide bomber.' (to a young female officer wearing a bullet-proof vest on Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, in 2002).

'Do you know they're now producing eating dogs for anorexics?' (to a blind woman outside Exeter Cathedral, 2002)

While visiting a London community centre group in July 2015, Philip asked a group of women 'who do you sponge off?' Ms Zamir, who founded the Chadwell Heath Asian Women's Network which meets at the centre, said: 'The Duke said to us 'who do you sponge off?' We're all married so it's our husbands. He was just teasing and it's similar to what I call my husband - the wallet'

'Well, you didn't design your beard too well, did you?' (to designer Stephen Judge about his tiny goatee beard in July 2009).

'There's a lot of your family in tonight.' (after looking at the name badge of businessman Atul Patel at a Palace reception for British Indians in October 2009).

'Do you work it a strip club?' (to 24-year-old Barnstaple Sea Cadet Elizabeth Rendle when she told him she also worked in a nightclub in March 2010).

'Do you have a pair of knickers made out of this?' pointing to some tartan (to Scottish Conservative leader Annabel Goldie a papal reception in Edinburgh in September 2010).

'Bits are beginning to drop off.' (on approaching his 90th birthday, 2011)

'How many people have you knocked over this morning on that thing?' (meeting disabled David Miller who drives a mobility scooter at the Valentine Mansion in Redbridge in March 2012)

At a 400-strong Buckingham Palace reception for British Indians in October 2009, Prince Philip told Indian businessman Atul Patel: 'There's a lot of your family in tonight'. The Prince is pictured during the night

'I would get arrested if I unzipped that dress.' (to 25-year-old council worker Hannah Jackson, who was wearing a dress with a zip running the length of its front, on a Jubilee visit to Bromley, Kent, in May 2012)

'The Philippines must be half empty as you're all here running the NHS.' (on meeting a Filipino nurse at a Luton hospital in February 2013)

'Most stripping is done by hand.' (to 83-year-old Mars factory worker Audrey Cook when discussing how she used to strip or cut Mars Bars by hand in April 2013)

'(Children) go to school because their parents don't want them in the house.' (prompting giggles from Malala Yousafzai, who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban after campaigning for the right of girls to go to school without fear - October 2013)

'Just take the f***ing picture.' (losing patience with an RAF photographer at events to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain - July 2015)

'You look starved.' (to a pensioner on a visit to the Charterhouse almshouse for elderly men - February 2017)

In 2015 an impatient Prince Philip was caught on camera during a photocall for the Battle of Britain and appeared to say: 'Just take the f***ing picture'

Other quotes:

• 'I'm just a bloody amoeba.' (on the Queen's decision that their children should be called Windsor, not Mountbatten).
• 'Gentlemen, I think it is time we pulled our fingers out.'(to the Industrial Co-Partnership Association on Britain's inefficient industries in 1961).
• 'Are you asking me if the Queen is going to die?' (on being questioned on when the Prince of Wales would succeed to the throne)
• 'If the man had succeeded in abducting Anne, she would have given him a hell of a time while in captivity.' (On a gunman who tried to kidnap the Princess Royal in 1974).
• 'I hope he breaks his bloody neck.' (when a photographer covering a royal visit to India fell out of a tree)
• 'If it doesn't fart or eat hay, she's not interested.' (on the Princess Royal)
• 'When a man opens a car door for his wife, it's either a new car or a new wife.' (on marriage).
• 'It's a pleasant change to be in a country that isn't ruled by its people.' (to Alfredo Stroessner, the Paraguayan dictator).
• 'Where did you get that hat?' (supposedly to Queen at her Coronation).  

'His Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme has inspired young people for more than 60 years in over 140 nations.

'We thank Prince Philip for his service to the country and wish him all the best in his well-earned retirement.'

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: 'He has dedicated his life to public service and to supporting the Queen. He has more than earned his retirement.

'Prince Philip, as well as the support he has given the Queen and his own public services, he has done an amazing amount of charity work as well. 

'It think he has always gone about his public service with a healthy and sometimes mischievious sense of humour.

'People will be appreciative of everything he has done and will want to wish him well and all the best for a peaceful and happy retirement.'

Ukip leader Paul Nuttall said:'We should honour the life of service to our Queen and nation by Prince Philip.

'For over 60 years he has been a dedicated public servant, and deserves our great thanks. Happy retirement Sir.' 

Tory grandee Sir Edward Leigh said: 'The decades of service to our nation of HRH the Duke of Edinburgh is a shining example, as he steps away from public duties I wish him well.'

The Duke, pictured at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in 2004, is a keen carriage driver

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson added his own tribute, saying: 'The Duke of Edinburgh has given the most extraordinary public service to this country for more than 60 years

'He has inspired generations of young people and helped to transform their lives

'Well into his 90s he has continued with public engagements with awe inspiring dedication and energy - as well as his trademark wit.'

The Mail story that went round the globe: Frenzied reaction to our exclusive Palace announcement (although some got it very wrong) 

The Daily Mail set the world alight with eager anticipation after it broke the news the Queen had called staff from across the UK to a top secret emergency meeting.

The exclusive story made headlines overnight and people waited with bated breath as news of Prince Philip's retirement unfolded across the globe over the next few hours. 

However a flurry of international speculation saw some media outlets get it wrong as they scrambled to report on the impending meeting.

French media mistakenly published stories incorrectly announcing the Duke of Edinburgh had died, while at lunchtime an Australian TV news channel reported the Queen was stepping down from her duties. 

And before the summit The Sun mistakenly posted an obituary with the headline: 'Prince Philip dead at 95, how did the Duke of Edinburgh die, etc etc.'

The secret summit was called by Buckingham Palace to announce that the Duke of Edinburgh (pictured) would be stepping down from royal duties in the autumn

The exclusive story made headlines around the globe as people awoke to find a top secret summit had been called by Buckingham Palace

Palace aides said there was 'no cause for alarm' about the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh's health ahead of the meeting.  

The Sun story read: 'Prince Philip, otherwise known as the Duke of Edinburgh, was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II.

'He was married to Queen Elizabeth II. The pair had four children together - Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.' 

The article was swiftly removed from the website but continued to appear in Google searches.   

While The Sun declined to comment, a spokesman said a reporter had been asked to update an obituary for Prince Philip when it was accidentally published online.  

Buckingham Palace was surrounded by the media as the world waited with bated breath

Royal sources had said there was 'no cause for alarm' about the couple's health ahead of the meeting - which was closely watched by the world's media

An obituary paying tribute was accidentally put online before Buckingham Palace announced The Duke of Edinburgh, who is 95, will no longer carry out public engagements from the autumn of this year

Australian presenter Tracy Grimshaw also suffered a royal blunder when she wrongly announced the Queen was retiring from public life - instead of Prince Philip.

The presenter of A Current Affair said she had 'confirmation' of the 'significant' news during a live cross with the program's UK correspondent Michael Best outside Buckingham Palace.

Grimshaw was reading details through an earpiece while presenting the breaking story when she made the error, for which she was swiftly corrected.