London: With a quick smile, a wave and a doff of his bowler hat, Prince Philip retired from public duty in a rain-drenched ceremony in the Buckingham Palace forecourt on Wednesday.
A small but excited crowd gathered under their umbrellas and plastic macs outside the palace railings to watch the 96-year-old Duke of Edinburgh go through the familiar routine one last time.
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Prince Philip makes final solo engagement
Britain's Prince Philip completes his last public engagement after 65 years of service, meeting a group of Royal Marines at Buckingham Palace.
There was a march past, there were rows of hundreds of burly serving Marines, veterans and cadets for him to salute him and to chat to.
There were two rounds of God Save the Queen, a tune he will hear a lot less often from now on.
Three slightly terrifying "hip hip hoorays" from the Marines won them a cheery wave of the hat from their Captain General.
Then he was gone, back inside the palace, probably looking forward to a relaxing afternoon beer (sources say his bitter of choice is Boddingtons).
Job done.
The occasion was a parade marking the finale of the Marines' 1664 Challenge, a series of strength and endurance challenges raising money for charity (said one Marine, "you get into a zone where nothing hurts any more").
Captain General is one of Philip's oldest duties, passed to him in June 1953 from his father-in-law King George VI. His replacement is up to the Queen, though media have speculated it's to be Prince Harry.
Philip is now retired – he will no longer carry out solo public engagements, though he will still accompany the Queen on occasion, and may choose to attend "certain public events from time to time", the palace said.
He will also keep up some official duties, including correspondence.
In the crowd outside the palace was Bob Bruce, who served in the Royal Marines for 26 years. He was there with his son, simply to mark the occasion.
"He's done a long stint," Bruce said of Philip. "He'd turn out to all the important events of the Royal Marines and quite a lot of unimportant events and informal events as well – he's always been a great supporter."
Bruce said he had met the Duke, briefly, a couple of times.
"He's fantastic, he's well known as being able to chat with anybody at any level. He's always got a clever comment to make, or a quick humorous quip.
"He spoke at the 350th anniversary dinner of the Royal Marines [in 2014] when he wasn't expected to speak. He stood up at a moment's notice and had the whole hall in stitches of laughter with his funny stories.
"I think we're very proud to see him today. He's given great service to the Corps, but he's also given fantastic service to the country."
Brigadier Richard Spencer, deputy commandant general of the Royal Marines, said the Marines had been "hugely privileged" to have the Duke of Edinburgh as their Captain General.
He had been much more than a figurehead, the brigadier said, he had been instrumental in drawing together the Corps family, and had provided advice and counsel to 25 commandants-general, the professional heads of the Marines.
"As always with people of such experience, they have the ability to see through the peaks and troughs of life," he said.
And Philip had clearly enjoyed the military side to his job – a former naval officer who served in the Second World War, he had also been Admiral of the Fleet and Colonel of the Grenadier Guards.
"That was particularly evident when you saw him with our cadets and veterans," the brigadier said.
"You saw the sparkle in his eyes and the spring in his step as he spoke to them."