HRH The Duke of Edinburgh welcomes Gold Award holders to The Palace of Holyroodhouse – and shares DofE memory of his own Gold Award celebration 40 years on
Over 600 Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award holders joined His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh as guests of honour at The Palace of Holyroodhouse today for a very special event to mark their achievements.
The celebrations recognise young people from across Scotland who have shown extraordinary perseverance, creativity and resilience to achieve their Gold DofE in schools, community organisations, youth groups and workplaces. This morning’s celebration saw The Duke congratulate attendees, telling them that they should all be “incredibly proud” and “walk a few inches taller”.
Young people and their loved ones enjoyed a festival-style celebration with giant deckchairs, bunting, and activities – and in recognition of the DofE charity’s 70th anniversary, a very special collective artwork that guests can add their fingerprint to. They also heard from famous Scottish faces: supermodel, DJ and actress, Eunice Olumide MBE, Olympic curler, Bruce Mouat, strongman Luke Stoltman and wildlife filmmaker, Gordon Buchanan MBE.
Helen Anderson, Director for Scotland, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, said: “It’s an absolute privilege to be celebrating our amazing Gold Award holders in The Palace of Holyroodhouse Gardens 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 in the UK 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 their confidence, resilience and human skills. I’m deeply grateful to our leaders, 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.”
Among the 600 attendees was Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, daughter of The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, who was presented with her certificate by The Duke, just as his father, Prince Philip, did for him 40 years earlier at St James’s Palace. The Duchess of Edinburgh was also in attendance for the event at The Palace of Holyroodhouse.
To mark 40 years of being a Gold DofE Award holder himself, The Duke posted in the DofE’s 70th anniversary digital scrapbook, accompanied by a photograph1 from The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award archive of when his father, Prince Philip, presented him with his Gold Award at St James’s Palace, in 1986.
During the Gold Award celebration event this morning, Scotland’s Olympic curler Bruce Mouat delivered an inspiring speech alongside 18-year-old Isla Ranger, from Lochgilphead, who celebrated her own Gold Award achievement today.
In his speech at Holyroodhouse earlier today, Bruce Mouat said: “Standing here today, you might think my journey as an Olympic curler has been very different from yours. And, I am sure; in some ways it has. But in many ways, it’s been remarkably similar.
“Because whether you’re carrying a rucksack across hills in terrible weather, volunteering in your local community, learning a new skill, or trying to qualify for the Olympic Games, the same qualities are required. Showing up when you don’t feel like it; learning from failure; working with other people; believing in a goal that can sometimes feel a very long way away.
Bruce continued: “As curlers, we train together as a team for 10 months of the year and travel together for eight months. It’s important that we get on with each other, but what I’m most proud of is that we always challenged one another to be better.
“That’s one of the reasons why completing your Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is such an achievement. It isn’t just something that looks good on a CV; it shows you’ve developed qualities that employers and universities genuinely value. Through your volunteering, you’ve shown you’re willing to give back to your community. Through learning a skill and taking part in physical activity, you’ve demonstrated commitment and discipline. And through your expedition, you’ve proved you can work as part of a team, solve problems, adapt when things don’t go to plan, and keep going when things get tough.”
Standing alongside Bruce, Isla Ranger, 18, from Lochgilphead, told attendees: “I began DofE at Bronze level, seeing it as a great chance to hang out with my friends and achieve something. I realised quickly that the Award was much more than that and through the sections, I discovered new passions and opportunities.
“DofE is mentally challenging, finding the strength to keep going when it feels difficult is something we can carry into our future challenges, realising things will work out, you just need to keep trying. Finishing my Gold Award is not where my journey will end. I hope to continue to volunteer with future expeditions in my local area. The skills I have developed will also stay with me for the rest of my life.”
Isla, who did her DofE at Tarbert Academy, went on to thank her grannie, Rowena Ranger, 76, from Tarbert, who, as a DofE Leader at her school, introduced her to the Award. She said: “After retiring, then coming back to work as a teacher, not only did granny teach, but she volunteered her time to run and restart DofE at my high school. After years of it not being offered, my Bronze group was the first to kick-start the Award at our school again. This year is the DofE’s 70th anniversary and that wouldn’t be possible without all the people here today who have given their time to run, plan and organise; so a massive thank you to all the teachers, parents, leaders and volunteers.”
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 globally2, with more than 8.8 million young people having started a DofE Award in the UK – enough people to fill Murrayfield Stadium 131 times. In the last year alone, nearly 34,000 young people in Scotland were doing their DofE, with participants giving more than 379,000 hours of volunteering in their communities – worth an estimated total value of £2.9m.
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 on DofE.org/your-story.
