The Duke of Edinburgh retired from his decades of royal duty around 18 months ago.

His decision to retire was made in a surprise announcement by Buckingham Palace in May 2017, and he carried out his final official royal engagement on August 2 that year, stepping down from a lifetime of public service at the age of 96.

Having bowed out of public life it was expected Philip was likely to keep busy with his many hobbies, including carriage driving, oil painting and bird watching.

Remembrance Sunday 2017
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh during the annual Remembrance Sunday Service at the Cenotaph memorial in 2017 (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

In November 2017 Philip and the Queen marked 70 years of marriage, their platinum anniversary, with a black tie dinner for friends and family at Windsor Castle.

While Philip attended the Cenotaph service and the traditional Christmas church service in Sandringham in 2017, he was absent from both events last year.

In early April 2018 he spent a week and a half in hospital following a hip replacement operation.

Just a month later Philip managed to attend the Windsor Castle wedding of his grandson Prince Harry, now the Duke of Sussex, who married former actor Meghan Markle.

Duke of Edinburgh’s final public engagement
The Duke of Edinburgh’s final individual public engagement, at Buckingham Palace in London (Hannah McKay/PA)

In October 2018 Philip joined his family for the second royal wedding of the year when he watched his granddaughter Princess Eugenie tie the knot with Jack Brooksbank.

The duke admitted ahead of his 90th birthday in 2011 that he wanted “less responsibility, less rushing about”.

In a BBC interview, he said: “I reckon I’ve done my bit, I want to enjoy myself for a bit now.

“With less responsibility, less rushing about, less preparation, less trying to think of something to say.

“On top of that your memory’s going, I can’t remember names.

“Yes, I’m just sort of winding down.”