Prince Philip was given the title of Duke of Edinburgh and was formally made a Prince of the United Kingdom in 1957.

:: A statement released by Buckingham Palace has confirmed that the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip will step down from official royal duties.

The statement came after hours of speculation on Prince Philip’s health on Thursday when Queen Elizabeth called for an emergency meeting of all her senior staff members overnight.

“Prince Philip will attend previously scheduled engagements between now and August, both individually and with the Queen. Thereafter, The Duke will not be accepting new invitations for visits and engagements, although he may choose to attend certain public events from time to time,” the statement read.

Meanwhile, the palace said the queen would continue to carry out her full program of engagements.

Prince Philip was born in Greece to Princess Alice of Battenberg and Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, but the family was exiled from the country when he was just an infant.

After being engaged for five months to Elizabeth, the couple married on November 20, 1947, and Philip was given the title of Duke of Edinburgh. He was formally made a Prince of the United Kingdom in 1957.