Prince Philip admired a homemade birthday card that was given to him at Buckingham Palace yesterday.
(John Stillwell/AFP/Getty Images)
LONDON — Prince Philip, the colorful and often outspoken husband of Queen Elizabeth II, celebrated his 90th birthday yesterday in apparent good health and good humor but announced plans to cut back his official duties.
The tall prince, still with military bearing but his face craggy with age, has been a familiar figure at his wife’s side for decades. He has championed numerous charities over the years but is advising the ones he heads to start planning an orderly transition as he plots the end of his working life.
Instead of acting as if he can continue the punishing pace of royal engagements, Philip has acknowledged that he is losing stamina. In a television interview to mark his milestone birthday, he said he was nearing his “sell-by date.’’
“I reckon I’ve done my bit. I want to enjoy myself for a bit now,’’ he said.
© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.
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