Queen Elizabeth II's 92-year-old husband, Prince Philip today made his first public appearance since an abdominal surgery in June, handing out medals at the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
The Duke of Edinburgh said it was "a great pleasure to be back in circulation again" as he waved to the gathered crowds in the Scottish capital today.
He then left to join the Queen at their summer retreat of Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire.
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters, and was established in 1783.
Prince Philip has been an honorary fellow since 1951 and has presented Royal Medals eight times since 2001.
He presented medals to the University of Dundee's Prof Michael Ferguson for life sciences, eminent organic chemist Sir John Cadogan for physical sciences and former oil company chief executive Sir Ian Wood for business, commerce and public service.
When referring to the winners the duke joked: "I wish to God I could understand what they'd been doing!".
The Duke spent 11 nights in hospital in June following a pre-arranged exploratory surgery.
His appearance followed a two-month period of convalescence.
He is yet to meet his great-grandson Prince George born last month and will be introduced to the newest royal when Prince William and wife Kate visit Balmoral for their first family holiday in the next few weeks.
The Duke of Edinburgh's illness had led to inevitable speculation that he would now scale back dramatically on his royal duties but that does not appear to be the case.
