A NEW exhibition is celebrating the Duke of Edinburgh’s commitment and service to infantry regiments which spanned for almost seven decades.

Prince Philip, who died last year, was Colonel-in-Chief of the infantry regiments of Wiltshire and then Berkshire, and is the focus of an exhibition at The Rifles Berkshire and Wiltshire Museum, in the Cathedral Close, Salisbury.

The display will feature his ceremonial uniform, lent by Her Majesty The Queen, photographs, documents and historic artefacts showing his service to the infantrymen of Wiltshire and Berkshire from the middle of the 20th century to just a year before his death at the age of 99.

“The purpose of a colonel-in-chief is to maintain a direct link between a regiment and the Royal Family,” said Simon Cook, a retired regimental officer and former curator and manager of the museum.

“In modern usage, the colonel-in-chief of a regiment is its patron. He or she has a ceremonial role in the life of the regiment and visits it regularly.”

Prince Philip became Colonel-in-Chief of the Wiltshire Regiment on June 2, 1953.

The appointment reflected a historic 19th century connection between Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, one of Queen Victoria’s sons, and the 99th Regiment, which later became the 2nd Battalion.

In 1920 the title of the regiment was altered to The Wiltshire Regiment (Duke of Edinburgh’s) and so it was a logical move for Prince Philip to become Colonel-in-Chief.

When the Wiltshire Regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Berkshire Regiment in 1959, the new unit assumed an even closer connection with Prince Philip being given the title The Duke of Edinburgh’s Royal Regiment (Berkshire and Wiltshire).

During its 35-year existence, Prince Philip regularly visited the regiment, including when it was on tours of duty during the troubles in Northern Ireland. He piloted the helicopter that brought him to Salisbury to open the museum at The Wardrobe in 1982 and presented it with new Colours.

Prince Philip also encouraged the regiment’s links with the Royal Navy, with which he had served during the Second World War.

Visitors to the exhibition will also be able to see the ship’s bell that was presented by H.M.S. Vernon to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Royal Regiment.

He continued as Colonel-in-Chief when the Duke of Edinburgh’s Royal Regiment was amalgamated with the Gloucestershire Regiment in 1994 to form the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment and then when the latter became part of The Rifles in 2007. He only finally stepped down from the role in 2020 when the Duchess of Cornwall became the Colonel-in-Chief of The Rifles.

The exhibition runs until November.

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