From 1865 until 1868, the 99th served in South Africa. While there, Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh, inspected the regiment as part of a tour of the colony. The regiment impressed him so much that he took a continued interest in the regiment for the rest of his life. This culminated in permission being granted to re-title the regiment. In 1874, the 99th (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot became the 99th (Duke of Edinburgh's) Regiment. After returning to England in 1868, the regiment returned to South Africa in 1878 in time to take part in the Anglo-Zulu War.