The Duke of Edinburgh has paid tribute to the “genius” of the Telegraph’s Matt, as Britain’s leading public figures celebrate the cartoonist’s 30th anniversary at this newspaper.

The Duke, a collector and long-term supporter of the art form, expressed his admiration for Matt in a personal message, in which he praises his “ability to think of wonderfully appropriate swipes at the idiocies of contemporary life”.

He today leads tributes to the “30th birthday” of Matt as a Telegraph cartoonist, joined by Theresa May, every living former Prime Minister, Britain’s finest broadcasters, writers and best-loved figures from the arts.

Mrs May, the Prime Minister, sent her personal congratulations to Matt for helping politicians to “laugh at ourselves”, while David Cameron revealed he enjoyed one cartoon poking fun at him so much it is mounted on the wall of his daughter’s bedroom.

Sir John Major praised his talent for capturing each moment "magnificently" with "gentle, understated humour", as Sir Tom Stoppard admitted: "Matt has entered my brain. Sometimes on reading a news story I wonder idly, 'What would Matt do with this?'"