Prince Philip to attend bridge opening weeks after retiring

Prince Philip attended his last solo engagement, held at Buckingham Palace, on 2 August

The Duke of Edinburgh has chosen the opening of a bridge to make his first official appearance alongside the Queen since retiring from solo engagements.

Prince Philip carried out his final solo engagement on 2 August, when he attended a parade to mark a fundraising challenge by the Royal Marines.

Buckingham Palace said the 96-year-old would join the Queen to open the Queensferry Crossing on 4 September.

Officials have said the duke's decision to retire was not medically related.

The 1.7-mile long Queensferry Crossing, costing £1.35bn, will replace the Forth Road Bridge as the main road route between Edinburgh and Fife.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will also attend the event, while there will be a blessing by the Moderator of the Church of Scotland.

The Queensferry Crossing will replace the Forth Road Bridge for most traffic

Prince Philip announced his retirement in May, after decades of supporting the Queen, as well as attending events for his own charities and organisations.

A spokesman at the time said he "may still choose to attend certain public events from time to time".

• Decades of royal duty

When he retired, the duke had carried out 22,219 solo engagements since 1952.

He had made 637 solo overseas visits, including 229 visits to 67 Commonwealth countries, and 408 visits to 76 other countries.

The new Queensferry Crossing will open to traffic on 30 August, before temporarily closing to give the public the chance to walk over it on 2 and 3 September.