The Prince is looking forward to stretching his new balls

"He is very impressed by their performance, particularly on rough terrain and over the jumps," said a Palace spokesman.

Prince Philip is the latest high-profile figure to equip himself with a new set of balls.

In the last 12 months shadow chancellor George Osborne, ITV chairman Michael Grade and Deal or No Deal presenter Noel Edmonds have all gone through expensive ball renewal programmes.

Sting pioneered the procedure in the late 1990s, when it was still regarded as highly controversial.

But he was soon emulated by a string of Hollywood A-listers including Kevin Spacey, Billy Crystal and Sir Anthony Hopkins.

Sport stars followed the trend with golfers Nick Faldo and Colin Montgomerie being fitted for new balls before the 2001 US Masters.

David Beckham has yet to sign up though friends say he is likely to splash out on some new balls when he moves to Los Angeles later his year.

A spokesman for the Prince said he was delighted to have his new balls in time for summer and was hoping for a spell of good weather so he could make the most of them.

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