Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh attended the historic Kirking of the Scottish Parliament this week.

The brother of King Charles took part in the longstanding tradition ahead of the beginning of a new parliamentary session in Edinburgh.

On behalf of the monarch, the official Instagram handle of the British royal family highlighted the Prince's visit. Sharing photos from Prince Edward's appearance, the palace wrote, "This week, The Duke of Edinburgh attended the Kirking of the Scottish Parliament."

They added, "The evening before the start of a new session of Parliament, a multi-faith service takes place at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh. Kirking is a Scots word meaning ‘going to church’."

"The Kirking is adapted from a Christian ceremony performed in the Parliament of Scotland in the Middle Ages, and was restarted as a multi-faith service when the new Scottish Parliament was established in 1999," it concluded.

The pictures showed Prince Edward seated among attendees during the multi-faith service held at St Giles Cathedral.

This comes as King Charles' reliable brother rushed to a diplomatic event on behalf of the monarch, who took on the mammoth task to open the State Parliament in London.