Members of the royal family mingled with guests at Buckingham Palace today for the annual Duke of Edinburgh gold awards ceremony.
The Duke of Cambridge and his cousin, Princess Eugenie, joined 3,000 young people from across the country who received awards at a special series of of presentations held throughout the day.
The youngest daughter of Prince Andrew, who will tie the knot with long-term boyfriend Jack Brooksbank in the autumn, wore a thigh-flashing £350 Clarine floral wrap dress from Alice + Olivia.
Today’s event was hosted by Prince Edward, who is trustee of the DofE awards, with Prince Philip having officially retired from public duties last autumn.
This morning Edward, 54, was accompanied by wife Sophie and niece Princess Beatrice; and later on he was joined by William and Eugenie.
Royal seal of approval! Eugenie mingled with guests as 3,000 young people from across the country received awards at a special series of of presentations held throughout the day.
Royally good style: The youngest daughter of Prince Andrew, who will tie the knot with long-term boyfriend Jack Brooksbank in the summer, wore a £350 dress from Alice + Olivia
The Duke of Cambridge joined guest presenters including Max Whitlock to present Duke of Edinburgh Gold Awards to young people at Buckingham Palace on Thursday
The Earl of Wessex shares Lady Louise Windsor, 14 and James, Viscount Severn, 10, with wife Sophie.
Throughout the day, the royals have met with young people and learned about their journey to achieve a gold award through volunteering, physical activity, skills and expeditions.
Guest presenters throughout the day included Rick Stein, Dave Myers, Max Whitlock, Tom Parker, Ed Byrne and actors Celia Imrie, Hermione Norris and John Bradley.
The Duke of Edinburgh is a youth achievement award that develops over 430,000 young people for life and work in the UK every year, including 60,000 from disadvantaged backgrounds.
William cracks a joke with guests. Guest presenters throughout the day included Rick Stein, Dave Myers, Max Whitlock, Tom Parker, Ed Byrnee, Celia Imrie and Hermione Norris Bradley
The Duke could be seen chatting animatedly with guests and their parents during today’s presentations. Over 3,000 young people from across the UK received Gold awards today
Important cause: Founded by Prince Philip in 1956, the DofE is currently being delivered in over 10,000 DofE centres such as schools, youth clubs and prisons
Guest of honour: This morning Edward (pictured) was accompanied by wife Sophie and niece Princess Beatrice; and later on he was joined by William and Eugenie
Founded by Prince Philip in 1956, the DofE is currently being delivered in over 10,000 DofE centres such as schools, youth clubs and prisons, supported by over 3,000 partner organisations and approximately 40,000 adult volunteers.
The DofE is delivered in more than 140 countries and territories worldwide.
Over 100 UK employers, including British Gas, Asda, Google, RSM, Amey, ITV, Burberry, DFS and Heathrow have endorsed a DofE Award as a recognisable mark of a young person’s transferrable soft skills.
Since the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award was founded in 1956, some six million people have taken part and more than 2.7 million awards have been handed out.