PRINCE Philip was due in East London tonight on a visit to a youth and community centre to find out how young athletes are gearing up for the 2012 Olympics.

He was due to meet participants of the London Youth’s Olympic Legacy programme at the Attlee Centre in Whitechapel this evening.

He will hear from young people about the regular sporting sessions offered by the Getting Ready programme which aims to get more young Londoners getting involved in sport in the run up to the Olympics.

So far more than 9,000 people have got involved and it’s been the first time that half of them have played sport since leaving school.

Last year Prince Philip joined the Queen on a visit to the nearby Whitechapel Bell Foundry and Fulton’s umbrella factory in Poplar.

And in June this year he had a sneak preview around the Olympic stadium in Stratford.