PRINCE PHILIP ‘SHAKEN’ AFTER TWO-CAR SMASH
PRINCE Philip had a remarkable escape yesterday after his car overturned in a horrifying road crash.
The 97-year-old was driving a Land Rover Freelander when it collided with a Kia car as he pulled out on to a busy main road with a 60mph (95kph) speed limit near Queen Elizabeth’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk.
The collision flipped his twotonne vehicle on to its side – driver’s side down – splintering the windscreen and sending glass and debris across the road. A witness said the prince – who was not injured – looked ‘very shocked and shaken’. Last night, police revealed that two women were in the Kia.
Both suffered minor injuries and were taken to hospital by ambulance after the accident at Babingley, on the outskirts of Sandringham. The driver suffered cuts while her passenger sustained an arm injury. They were both later discharged from Queen Elizabeth Hospital nearby.
Police said Prince Philip and the other driver were breath-tested, in line with Norfolk Police policy. Both provided negative readings.
Last night the duke, who has retired from public duties and underwent a hip replacement last year, was said to be recuperating at home on the estate with Queen Elizabeth after being given the allclear by a doctor.
Family members, including Prince Charles, who is in Scotland, are being kept informed.
Local parish council chairman Ben Colson said the road – the A149 – had been the scene of sevup-to-date
Unlike his wife, he wears a seat belt
eral fatal accidents. He said council officials had discussed installing speed cameras or changing the layout.
In a statement, Buckingham Palace confirmed that Prince Philip was driving – and that he had an driver’s licence.
Despite suffering a string of health issues in recent years, including an operation to insert a stent in his heart, Philip has always insisted on driving himself, as does the Queen. Unlike his wife, he wears a seat belt, which would have contributed to his apparent lack of injuries. The incident will, however, raise questions about his ability to continue driving, as well as the wider issue of elderly drivers.
One witness told the BBC that the prince’s car was ‘T-boned’, meaning struck from the side, adding: ‘It [the car] was turned over – he was turned over.’
The unnamed witness added: ‘We helped him get out of the car. He was conscious but very, very shocked and shaken.
‘There were lots and lots of police at the incident.’
Prince Philip walked away from his overturned vehicle and got into another car, which took him back to Sandringham House.
Debris from the crash, including shattered glass and pieces of bumper, was left littered across the road.
The prince normally refuses to travel with a ‘back-up’ vehicle, unlike most members of the royal family, but it appears there was a passenger in his car, who would almost certainly have been a Scotland Yard protection officer.