HRH The Duke of Edinburgh welcomes 9,000 Gold Award holders to Buckingham Palace – and shares humorous DofE memory of his own in charity’s 70th anniversary digital scrapbook

Over 2,000 Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award holders were guests of honour at Buckingham Palace Garden today for a very special event to mark their achievements.

The celebrations, which take place across two days, will recognise over 9,000 young people from all over the UK who have shown extraordinary perseverance, creativity and resilience to complete their Gold DofE in schools, community organisations, youth groups and workplaces.

The Buckingham Palace Garden has been transformed into a festival-style celebration for young people and their loved ones, with giant deckchairs, bunting, and activities – including some very special touches in recognition of the DofE charity’s 70th anniversary. Attendees will also hear from broadcaster and author Jake Humphrey, F1 commentator Billy Monger and Olympic great, and DofE Silver Award holder, Dame Kelly Holmes MBE OLY – and can pick up career advice from actors, presenters, athletes, and campaigners at stages throughout the garden.

This morning’s celebration saw His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, congratulate attendees in a speech from the Palace’s West Terrace telling them that they should all be “incredibly proud” and “stand a few inches taller”. Earlier today, and to mark 40 years of being a Gold DofE Award holder himself, The Duke posted in the DofE’s 70th anniversary digital scrapbook, giving a humorous account of when his father, Prince Philip, presented him with his Gold Award at St James’s Palace, in 1986.

In his post, which is accompanied by a photograph from The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award archive, The Duke said: “Usually, my father would give the bunch of Award certificates to a presenter to distribute, but this time he talked to our group, gave me my certificate and then said, ‘Well, since I’ve given you that one, I’ll give you the rest’ and handed the whole lot to me to hand out!”

During the Gold Award celebration event this morning, presenter and author, Jake Humphrey, delivered an inspiring speech alongside 19-year-old Evie Ball, a DofE Youth Ambassador, who celebrated her own Gold Award achievement today.

Jake Humphrey shared the lessons he’d learnt from his own career, telling the crowd that “moments like this are not earned through comfort, they are earned through challenge.” He said: “If you want to do anything meaningful with your life, you have to risk being wrong. But the problem with 2026, our social media dominated, algorithmically controlled modern world, is that everybody feels pressure to appear perfect. Perfection is everywhere we look, eroding our sense of achievement.”

Jake, who has worked in television for 30 years, from children’s TV to Formula One to football, told attendees that his “low reel,” not his “showreel” would tell you far more about who he really is; it’s these moments that have led him to where he is today.

He said: “My version would start with the day I collected my A-Level results. My place at University all lined up. Until I opened the envelope containing my grades. E, N, U. I didn’t even know what an N was. Turns out it stands for ‘nearly’. Nearly enough marks for an E!!

“My low reel would also share the two years I was so badly bullied at school that I had to leave. It would include the time I was sacked from a certain fast-food chain for, in their words, ‘a lack of communication skills’. My low reel would be long. Yet I believe that low reel is exactly what I should tell people about because it’s what I’ve become most proud of, it’s where all my growth lies. Without them, there’s no way I would have been talking to you today.

“We have to realise that the hardest moments in our lives are often preparing us for the biggest moments in our lives. And that, to me, is the spirit of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.”

Throughout his career, Jake has interviewed some of the world’s most successful people, making him realise that “people who achieve extraordinary things are not fearless, they simply decide that their desire for growth is greater than their fear of looking foolish.”

Jake continues: “As you move into the next chapter of your lives, I want you to remember to be ambitious enough to fail, be brave enough to look foolish, be resilient enough to keep going. And if you take just one thing from today, let it be that the struggles you carry are not evidence that you are weak. It is evidence that you are stronger than you realised. Failure is the price of ambition, but courage is always worth the cost.”

Speaking from the West Terrace, Evie Ball, 19, from Preston, told attendees that “DofE is an equaliser” which has enabled her to discover her resilience.

Evie, who did her DofE at Sir Tom Finney Community High School, said: “In my opinion the DofE is an equaliser. No matter your background, it will encourage you to succeed. Everyone here today has been on their own unique journey, and that’s what makes this Award so special.”

For her Physical section, Evie chose swimming and swam the distance of the English Channel to raise money for charity – and although she found her expedition physically and mentally challenging, thanks to a supportive team and positive mindset, Evie discovered just how resilient she is. She said: “Getting stuck crossing cattle grids, getting stuck in the mud, getting stuck in kissing gates, it definitely tested my resilience, but it showed me when the road is bumpy, to never give up.”

For her Skills section, Evie overcame shyness to discover new passions like public speaking and debating, “with practice and experience, I have found my voice,” she said. “My message is clear. Every voice is valuable and needs to be heard. Sometimes you just need to be given that chance.”

A Gold DofE Award is a major achievement – young people spend at least 12 months honing new skills and talents, planning and completing an expedition and residential, and volunteering for a cause they are passionate about.

Since its conception in 1956, the DofE has reached over 15.5 million young people globally, with more than 8.8 million young people having started a DofE Award in the UK – enough people to fill Wembley Stadium 98 times. In the last year alone, over 345,000 young people in the UK started their DofE – the highest annual starts in our 70-year history – giving over 6 million volunteering hours in their communities, worth an estimated total value of £45.4m3.

Ruth Marvel OBE, CEO of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, said: “It’s an absolute privilege to be celebrating our amazing Gold Award holders in the Buckingham Palace Garden today – who through their DofE, have shown extraordinary perseverance and resilience, and developed core skills for life.

“It’s incredible to think that 70 years ago, 7,000 young people started a DofE journey; fast forward to 2026 and this number shoots up to over 345,000. As young people navigate an uncertain time, we will continue to champion opportunities that build confidence, resilience and human skills for all young people. I’m deeply grateful to our volunteers, partners and supporters who make that possible, and over the next five years, we look forward to building on that further by helping an additional two million young people access a life-changing DofE Award of their own.”

Other speakers at this morning’s event included BBC The One Show presenter, Alex Jones, actors Larry Lamb and Hugh Bonneville and Olympic champion, Tabby Stoecker – while speakers at the other three celebrations include presenter and podcaster Sam Thompson, Strictly Come Dancing star Katya Jones, TV chef Jon Watts, F1 pundit Billy Monger and Olympic great, Dame Kelly Holmes MBE OLY.

As the charity celebrates 70 years of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, it’s recognising DofE participants past and present and the incredible volunteers who make their journey possible — anyone with a connection to the DofE is invited to join HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and celebrate by sharing their memories in DofE’s digital scrapbook.