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Duchess of Cornwall's sweet tribute to Prince Philip revealed

Clarence House released a stunning new portrait

camilla philip
Danielle Stacey
Online Royal CorrespondentLondon
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The Duchess of Cornwall has paid tribute to her "dear father-in-law," the Duke of Edinburgh, as she delivered a video message to The Rifles on Thursday.

Camilla, who took over as Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment from Prince Philip during separate ceremonies in the summer, revealed her admiration for the Queen's husband.

Speaking about her new role, she said: "I must begin by paying tribute to my predecessor, my dear father-in-law, His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, who, having been Colonel-in-Chief of the successive regiments that have made up The Rifles since 1953, has set the bar incredibly high."

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The Duke, who celebrated his 99th birthday in June, stepped out for a rare public engagement at Windsor Castle in July for the military handover. Meanwhile, Camilla, 73, was at a separate ceremony at Highgrove House in Gloucestershire.

Clarence House released a stunning new portrait of the Duchess on Thursday to mark her appointment as Colonel-in-Chief of the Rifles.

Dressed for the occasion, the Duchess wore a beautiful green dress with a black trim, which was modelled on the Rifles' own uniform. It featured the same buttons as worn on the soldiers' tunics, which have bugles on them.

colonel in chief camilla© Photo: Getty Images

The new portrait of the Duchess of Cornwall. Credit: Chris Jackson

Perhaps most notable was her brooch, standing in contrast to her dark outfit, which was commissioned by The Rifles. It was formally presented to Camilla by General Sir Patrick Sanders, Colonel Commandant of The Rifles.

According to Clarence House, the silver Bugle Horn is used as the cap badge of The Rifles and is worn by every Rifleman today. Considered to be the ideal replacement for the drum, the bugle horn was adopted by Light Infantry and later Rifle Regiments from the early 1800s to pass orders across the battlefield. 

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prince philip rifles© Photo: Getty Images

Prince Philip during the military handover ceremony in July

In her video message, the Duchess said: "Riflemen, with the rest of our nation, I am profoundly in your debt for all that you do, especially during these troubled times.

"Continue to uphold those qualities of discipline, courage and sense of humour that my father spoke of, and be proud of all that you represent.

"Wherever you may be viewing this message, on operations in Afghanistan, deployed to Estonia, on exercise in the UK or, indeed, enjoying some much-deserved leave, thank you from the bottom of my heart."

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