THE Duke of Edinburgh made several official visits to Swindon during his long life, both with the Queen and in his own right.

The first was on February 12, 1960, when he came here to perform two duties and crowds of cheering spectators lined the streets along his toute through the town.

The first of those duties was at the Drill Hall in Church Street, where he presented an accolade called the Trophy Challenge Shield to 4th Battalion The Wiltshire Regiment (TA).

Later that day, he visited what was then Pressed Steel but is now BMW’s plant in Stratton St Margaret, where he was given a guided tour by managers and frequently paused to speak with production line workers. During this period, the Duke was very active in promoting British industry and encouraging bosses to make their businesses as competitive as possible.

He returned to Swindon only a little over a year later, on Friday, April 14, 1961. The Duke began a busy day in Swindon when he arrived by helicopter on new playing field at Drakes Way in Walcot.

His first duties were to officially open the fields, unveil a plaque on the sports pavilion and start three cross-country races.

His car was then driven along a route lined with cheering residents to the town centre, where he unveiled a plaque commemorating the start of work on what would eventially become the shopping area we know today.

After that, he headed for Regent Circus and what was then the new extension to Swindon College. The building was to remain until 2012, when it was demolished.

Among the dignitaries, students, staff and spectators who greeted the Duke outside the college was a four-legged gatecrasher in the form of a stray dog. The creature was duly greeted by the amused royal visitor.

Check out more photos from his royal visits here

The next time the Duke had business in Swindon was in June of 1971 when he accompanied the Queen to the opening of the Wyvern Theatre and the new civic centre of which it was a part.

It wasn’t until February of 2003 that he returned to the town, where he faced a day every bit as busy as the one he had spent here 42 years earlier.

As had happened in 1961, he visited a college, but this time it was New College, where he talked to students about their causes.

His other duties were the official opening of the Great Western Hospital and the switching on of the Jubilee Clock on Bridge Street.

The clock, created in honour of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee the year before, stood for several years in the town centre before being removed, repaired and re-sited at the station.

The Duke of Edinburgh was also Colonel-in-Chief of The Wiltshire Regiment. In 1921 the name of the Regiment was changed to the Wiltshire Regiment (Duke of Edinburgh's).

He officially opened The Rifles (Berkshire and Wiltshire) Museum in Salisbury in 1982 and he and the Queen visited the museum on May 1 2012 during her Diamond Jubilee tour.

The badge remained unchanged until 1954 when Prince Philip became the Regiment's Colonel-in-Chief, at which time the monogram was replaced with a 'P' and a reversed 'P' and the Royal Ducal pattern of coronet was adopted.

In 1958 The Regiment merged with the Royal Berkshire Regiment to form the Duke of Edinburgh's Regiment, Berkshire and Wiltshire, in the Wessex Brigade, adopting the Wessex Brigade badge.

In 1968 the Wessex Brigade was broken up and the Regiment re-emerged as the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment (Berkshire and Wiltshire).

In 1994 there was a further amalgamation, this time with the Gloucestershire Regiment, to form the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment.

In 2005 this Regiment was designated as Light Infantry. In 2007 the Regiment amalgamated again, this time with the Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry, which had also been designated Light Infantry in 2005. The amalgamated unit joind the newly-formed The Rifles as its 1st Battalion.

The Prince Philip Barracks at MOD Lyneham near Chippenham is also named after the Duke. The Prince visited the facility in March 11 2016 to officially open the new baracks in his name.

MOD Lyneham is the new home for the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, of which the Duke has been Colonel-in-Chief since 1969.