Looking back at Prince Philip's incredible charity workThe Duke of Edinburgh was involved in over 750 organisations
Prince Philip did a huge amount of charity work during his long service as Duke of Edinburgh. In fact the Duke was involved in over 750 organisations, serving as a patron, president or member and carried out 22,129 solo engagements.
We're taking a look back at the work he did after Buckingham Palace announced the sad news that The Duke of Edinburgh has died aged 99.
His most famous charity work is undoubtedly the Duke of Edinburgh Award which he himself founded over 60 years ago.
However, his work with other charities and organisations reflects his interests, here’s some of the work carried out by Prince Philip that you may not have known about.
He was interested in environmental conservationDespite being born in 1921, long before global warming and the environment were main features of the news, the Duke of Edinburgh always took an active interest in environmental issues, acting as patron of the UK branch of world leading conservation group WWF since 1961, when it was established.
Speaking in 1986, he said “You cannot exploit all the natural resources for human use and expect to have a great deal of future.”
His naval career inspired an engineering and design prizeHaving served in the Navy during WWII, Prince Philip’s interest in engineering and technology can be attributed to the time he spent on naval ships.
In 2004 he spoke about the importance of engineering in helping Britain out of the post-war dip: “the only way we were going to recover a sort of viability was through engineering"
In recognition of this passion, he launched the Prince Philip Designers Prize in 1959, awarded to engineers and designers whose creations transformed everyday life.
Recipients of the award have included Sir James Dyson, best known for creating the bagless vacuum cleaner, and the architect who designed the Gherkin in London, Lord Foster.
Support for sportHis passion for sports and outdoors activities is also reflected in his charity work. Not only did he found the Duke of Edinburgh award to promote the development of skills and physical activity, he was also president of the International Equestrian Federation.
In this role he oversaw equestrian plans for five Olympic games. His daughter, Princess Anne, and grand-daughter Zara Phillips, share his love of horses, having both competed for the British equestrian team in the Olympic games.
He was also heavily involved in the Sport and Recreation Alliance, an organisation which represents the sport and recreation sector in Government and the media.
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