Smiling Philip back in driving
THE Duke of Edinburgh yesterday looked game for a royal wedding as he made his first public appearance since a hip replacement.
He joined the Queen at the Royal Windsor Horse Show just over a week before next Saturday’s wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
It is understood he has now stopped using crutches and Royal sources have suggested it is likely he will attend.
A final decision is not expected until shortly before the wedding at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, next weekend.
Philip, who will be 97 next month, was spotted driving through Home Park at Windsor in a Land Rover Freelander before pulling alongside the Queen and Countess Mountbatten for a chat.
Pain
The Duke had a hip replacement operation on April 4 and left hospital nine days later.
He returned to Windsor after spending time convalescing at Wood Farm, a house on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk that has been converted into a country hideaway for him.
His joint had been causing him pain for about a month before the operation.
Experts predicted be would be able to resume normal activities within two to three months of the operation.
Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Scarlett McNally, a College of Surgeons council member, said: “Every individual has different needs and recovers in different ways but the majority of patients can get back to their chosen lifestyle a few weeks after surgery, free from pain and with improved mobility.”
The Queen Mother underwent two successful hip replacement operations in the 1990s, first a planned procedure when aged 95 then later an emergency operation when 97 after a fall.
Osteoarthritis is the most common reason for a hip replacement.
The Duke, dressed in a navy jacket bearing a royal crest, watched the action through a pair of binoculars at one point, after an aide brought him a programme of events to read.
Later on, the Queen was joined by VIP guests including the King of Bahrain, Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa, and her son Prince Andrew.
The annual show, just a short distance from Windsor Castle, is one of the Queen’s favourite equestrian events of the year.
With the countdown to the wedding now in earnest, final preparations are under way for Harry and Meghan’s big day.
Meghan’s parents, Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland, are due to fly into Britain next week and spend time meeting the Queen and other members of the Royal Family before the wedding.
Mr Markle, 73, a retired lighting director, will walk his daughter down the aisle, while Ms Ragland, 61, who will stay with her daughter on the eve of the wedding, will join her for part of the bride’s car journey to the ceremony before changing places with pageboys and bridesmaids.
They will both join the happy couple and their best man, the Duke of Cambridge, and young bridesmaids and pageboys at wedding rehearsals next week.
Harry, 33, and Meghan, 36, have invited 600 guests to their wedding and after the carriage ride through the streets of Windsor will join them for an afternoon reception hosted by the Queen.
In the evening Prince Charles will hold a dinner at nearby Frogmore House for the couple and 200 of their close friends and family.