BORIS Johnson will take part in a military visit in the South West today to commemorate the death of Prince Philipp.
The PM will travel to Devon for the event, after which he is expected to be grilled about the growing lobbying scandal engulfing Westminster.
The trip will take place amid intense preparations for the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral on Saturday.
Troops have been practising drills and final security measures are being put in place ahead of the service, which will take place in Windsor.
It comes after the Sun revealed the Queen ordered that no royals should wear military uniform for the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.
Prince Harry had faced the humiliating prospect of being the only senior male in the family wearing civvies after losing his honorary ranks.
There was also said to be “serious Navy displeasure” at being dragged into a row over Prince Andrew possibly wearing an admiral’s uniform.
Insiders involved in planning for Saturday’s funeral claim the Queen personally stepped in to suggest all senior male royals wear suits and ties.
Three of the Prince's relatives from Germany are reportedly set to attend the funeral and are in isolation ahead of the service.
Two great-nephews and a cousin are said to be staying with a mutual friend in Ascot, Berkshire, so they can safely be there on Saturday.
Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Baden, Prince Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse, and Prince Philipp of Hohenlohe-Langenburg are locked in a Covid-compliant bubble.
The Duke of Edinburgh apparently made it clear he wanted his "blood" family to be included in his funeral arrangements.
But during the trip the PM is likely to have other things on his mind and he looks to douse the growing lobbying scandal engulfing Westminster.
Furious No 10 has given civil servants just 48 hours to admit whether they are moonlighting in private sector jobs.
Whitehall chiefs face a crackdown amid the fallout from the David Cameron lobbying row.
And today the scandal threatened to draw in Boris himself after it emerged he was personally lobbied by a Saudi prince over a failed deal to buy a Premier League football club.
Mr Cameron bombarded Chancellor Rishi Sunak, ministers and aides with messages asking for millions in Covid bailout cash for his employer Greensill Capital, which received nothing and collapsed in March.
It also emerged the Cabinet Office allowed ex-top mandarin Bill Crothers to take a role as an adviser at the finance capital firm in September 2015, while Mr Cameron was in No10
And The Sun has learnt that the former Whitehall bigwig believed to have signed off on the move was himself slammed for trying to keep a £100,000-a-year boardroom job while chief exec of the Civil Service.
John Manzoni was appointed to the powerful role in October 2014.
He spent weeks batting away conflict of interest complaints over his pay from the brewer SABMiller.
He eventually waived the cash.
And today it was reported Boris was personally lobbied by Saudi Arabia's crown prince over a bid to buy a Premier League football club.
Mohammed Bin Salman urged him to "correct and reconsider" the "wrong" decision by league bosses to block the £300m takeover of Newcastle United.
The PM is said to have intervened by handing the complaint onto one of his top aides, Lord Eddie Lister, who said he would "investigate".
The angry crown prince is said to ave warned No 10 relations with his kingdom would be damaged if the decision wasn't overturned.
But the Premier League stood its ground, and the Saudis withdrew from trying to buy the North East club last July.
Saudi Arabia is also involved in the lobbying row sparked by Mr Cameron.
This week a photo emerged of the ex PM and financier Lex Greensill drinking tea around a campfire in the country when they had talks with Bin Salman.
Mr Cameron insists that they were discussing human rights. But his reputation has been badly tarnished by the episode.
Tory MP William Wragg said the saga is “no doubt a tasteless, slapdash and unbecoming episode”.
Another, Jackie Doyle-Price, said the damage to Mr Cameron’s reputation “will be with him a very long time”.
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