A Marine from Carlisle who shook hands with Prince Charles is set to meet another royal in a few days time - The Duke of Edinburgh on his final official public engagement.

Corporal Jamie Thompson, 31, will hand over a corps baton to Prince Philip at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday at the end of a gruelling 100-day challenge, which has seen the soldier run 16.64 miles everyday.

He and Corporal Will Gingell, 32, from London, mark their 94th run today.

They volunteered to take on the total of 1,664 miles - for the Royal Marines 1664 Global Challenge.

The number is symbolic for the naval fighting force, which traces its roots back to the year 1664.

The Duke of Edinburgh, 96, who has been the Marine's Captain General since 1953, replacing King George VI after his death, will attend Buckingham Palace on Wednesday to mark the finale of challenge, where the two corporals will personally hand him the baton.

Cpl Thompson, of 42 Commando, based in Plymouth, said: "It's an honour.

"It's pretty historic with it being his last engagement.

"We are going to be the last people who actually do something with him."

The pair will finish their final run on Wednesday morning before joining the Royal Marine's charity parade from Wellington Barracks to the palace.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said that the parade outside the Queen's London residence would "bring His Royal Highness's individual programme to a conclusion, although he may choose to attend certain events, alongside the Queen, from time to time".

Cpl Thompson, who has been in the Army for about 10 years and a marine for about five, has visited many places he had never been before.

He and Cpl Gingell, who will have completed the equivalent of 63.5 marathons when they cross the finish line, are the two core runners in the challenge but they have been joined along the way.

Running an average of three hours a day, they have been across the country, moving from one marine commando unit to the next every six days and completing a series of runs from each base with different runners.

In some places the Marines have combined their mileage with other events.

The two ran 10 miles before doing the Manchester 10k, where they met comedian John Bishop at the end.

They met the Prince of Wales in Barnstaple, while he and the Duchess of Cornwall were on a three-day visit to Devon and Cornwall.

He asked them about their challenge and which units they were from.

As they come to the end of the challenge Corporal Thompson, who grew up in Orton Road and whose family still live in Morton, is looking forward to a well deserved rest.

"We are both looking forward to having a day off," he said.

"The first 30 days I had swollen knees. After that everything went away and now we don't feel any different."

He continued: "In the Marines your fitness is pretty much at the highest level. You have also got the right mindset.

"After 50 days it has flown in.

"We both do a lot of running but not to this extent.

"But if someone gives you a challenge you accept."

The 1664 challenge, which this year marks the 353rd anniversary of the Royal Marines, is raising funds and awareness for the Royal Marines Charity through a series of events.

Elsewhere 100 marines from Lima Coy 42 Commando, whilst deployed in the Gulf, lifted the total weight of their ship, HMS Ocean - 21,473 tonnes - and then ran the distance home to the UK - 10,000km - all in 24 days.

To donate visit https://www.justgiving.com/teams/RMGlobalChallenge.