Royal spotted in unusual place in Sydney
Prince Edward has begun his whirlwind tour of Sydney after touching down in Australia to work with young people as a part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
The Royal touched down at Sydney Airport on Monday night after taking a flight from New Zealand.
There was little time for rest as Edward began his tour of the NSW capital the next morning by visiting the Police Citizens Youth Clubs in Woolloomooloo to see
to see programs in action, including Working With Disadvantaged Youth and Duke of Ed in Prisons.
The 59-year-old’s tour down under is largely to promote his namesake, the Duke of Edinburgh Award, and he will meet with some of the program’s participants, volunteers and community leaders during his visit.
The duke himself has achieved the award in his youth, which involves months of volunteering, sports, and skills learning as well as “adventure” camping trips.
He was spotted taking part in a ceremony celebrating participants who had achieved the gold level of the award.
Young people were seen beaming as they received their achievement certificates from the Prince.
More than 800,000 young people have taken part in the “Duke of Ed” award since Prince Philip founded it in 1956, bringing it to Australia in 1959.
Edward followed in his father’s footsteps and became the Duke of Edinburgh in 2023, two year’s after Prince Philip’s death left the title vacant.
The visit is hoped to boost the number of participants even more than they’ve already grown according to the program’s Australian chief executive Peter Kaye.
“This visit is part of a significant chapter for the Duke of Ed in Australia as we celebrate a recent record in the number of young people using the framework,” Mr Kaye said.
“While the Duke of Ed has been operating in Australia for over 60 years, our growing number of participants indicate this framework is now more relevant than ever amongst young Australians seeking to build essential life skills, access higher education and gain employment.”
