Prince Edward flys to South Africa as three senior royals ruled out for weeks

Today the duke visited Pretoria and had a meeting with animal conservation groups to discuss how they are conserving nature and reversing biodiversity loss.

Tomorrow the Duke of Edinburgh is set to travel to St Helena from January 23 to 26 to visit Jonathon the tortoise- the world’s oldest living animal.

Prince Edward visits South Africa.

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Jonathon, a beloved resident of St Helena, was thought to have hatched in 1832 making him 191 years old.

The prince will visit Jonathon on his four-day trip to the British overseas territory which sits in the South Atlantic Ocean.

Edward is the first member of the Royal Family to visit the island since the Princess Royal travelled there 22 years ago in 2002.

Governor Nigel Phillips said: “This promises to be a special occasion, with a public holiday allowing the entire community to join this opportunity to celebrate all that is great about the culture and environment of this remarkable island.”

Jonathon is a giant Seychelles tortoise and is estimated to have lived through 40 U.S. presidents and 31 governors of Saint Helena.

The tortoise was born before the invention of the light bulb and the telephone!

Although his exact birthdate is unknown, he was fully grown when he was gifted to the island’s governor in 1882, making experts suggest he was 50 years old at that time.

The Duke and the Duchess of Edinburgh are currently carrying out royal duties as other working members of the Royal Family are ruled out due to medical reasons.