A Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme ambassador and former pupil at the Cotswold School has paid tribute to Prince Philip and shared the moment he met him.

Rich Whincup, 41, who grew up in Stow-on-the-Wold, became a DofE ambassador after completing the scheme himself while studying at The Cotswold School, which he said helped him build the confidence to overcome his chronic stammer.

He met Prince Philip when he received his gold award and again while attending the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award 60th anniversary in his role as ambassador.

“I met Prince Philip in 1998 when I received my Gold Award but I was praying that he wouldn’t speak to me directly because I wouldn’t have been able to say anything with my stammer,” said Mr Whincup, who now lives in Tewkesbury.

“At the 60th anniversary at Westminster Abbey, the queen walked past me and I bowed but no one else did which I was quite surprised at.

“The Duke of Edinburgh, who was following the queen, gave me a wink to say well done for remembering royal protocol and the Earl of Wessex whispered 'nice to see you again'.”

The Earl of Wessex, Prince Edward, first spotted Mr Whincup when he was speaking about his story at a conference in the Cotswolds.

When he was at school, Mr Whincup looked for challenges that didn’t involve having to talk to anyone due to his stammer.

He threw himself into extra-curricular activities such as karate, photography, mechanics and volunteering for the Scouts, which formed the basis of his DofE programme.

Prince Philip set up the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in 1956 to help young people build skills, confidence, and resilience.

Since becoming an ambassador for the award, Mr Whincup travels around the country presenting awards at schools, scouts and cadets.

“It’s a really special thing to be a part of because I get to see people who possibly might have gone off the rails a little bit and they’re kept on the rails by the award scheme and that’s one of the things it was created for.

“I’d like to say thank you to Prince Philip for his service and thank you for creating the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme, giving millions of young people the skills and the confidence to progress in their lives and to make more of their lives.”

“With the sad news of Friday, it galvanizes us all to continue what we’re doing.”

Mr Wincup’s eldest son Tom, 14, his now taking on the DofE bronze award.