Britain's Prince Philip to step down from official duties in August

Britain’s Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, will no longer carry out public engagements from this fall, Buckingham Palace announced Thursday.

The announcement followed frenzied speculation among the media and the public after staff working at royal buildings throughout the country were called to the palace in central London for an emergency meeting.

“His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh has decided that he will no longer carry out public engagements from the autumn of this year. In taking this decision, The Duke has the full support of The Queen,” the palace said in a statement. (Photo: Pool)

There are some real perks to being queen.

You can get up close to an elephant.(Photo: Samir Hussein, WireImage)

Queen Elizabeth II becomes world's longest-serving monarch 

The United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth II became the world’s longest reigning monarch on Thursday, following the death of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej. He had been on the throne for 70 years.

The 90-year-old British royal, who has been Queen for 64 years and eight months, became the U.K’s longest-serving monarch ever last year, when she surpassed Queen Victoria, her great-great-grandmother.

(Photo: WPA Pool, Getty Images)

Royalty tops the 'Vanity Fair' best-dressed list

Yes, the British queen. She's 90, and hasn't really been a fashion icon since ... well, maybe the 1950s or 1960s.

So it's likely to be heartening to those of certain age to learn that a woman in her 10th decade, who usually wears more or less the same outfit in different colors, is being honored with a first-ever special citation for "steadfastness in dress." (Photos: Getty)

Annie Leibovitz captures loving couple, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, in time for the queen’s 90th birthday.

(Photo: Annie Leibovitz, Buckingham Palace via AP)

HBD HRH! Queen Elizabeth II turns 89 today. http://usat.ly/1aPGrDD

Queen picks nails; Lauer interprets this as wild cheering

When the time came for Great Britain to march in the opening ceremony, one observer had something else on her mind:

Queen Elizabeth was shown on the broadcast picking her nails as the delegation of the host country took the field last among the parade of nations.

Yet, NBC's Matt Lauer said that the queen was "cheering wildly."

Whoops.