Prince Philip was joking hours earlier at Buckingham Palace garden party

 
7 June 2013

Prince Philip offered no clues that he was about to undergo a major operation as he chatted with guests at a Buckingham Palace garden party.

Wearing a grey morning suit and top hat, he appeared in good humour in his usual place alongside the Queen at the top of the garden steps. He stood to attention as the Band of the Coldstream Guards played the national anthem to signify the monarch’s arrival at precisely 4pm.

But as the royal party, including the Earl and Countess of Wessex and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, made their way towards the royal tea tent 200 yards across the garden, Philip lingered to talk with some of the 8,000 guests, telling jokes and making wry asides.

Famous faces included cyclist Sir Chris Hoy, TV presenter Clare Balding, actor Benedict Cumberbatch and Cabinet minister Danny Alexander. Philip appeared to be enjoying their company so much that he fell some distance behind the Queen.

Ninety minutes later, the Queen made her exit with Philip. He was driven to the London Clinic, with palace aides waiting until he was safely inside before breaking the news to the media.

Before the party, the Queen invested her husband with New Zealand’s highest honour, making him an additional member of the Order of New Zealand to mark the Diamond jubilee.

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