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GAMES JAMES
PRINCE Philip has got back behind the wheel just two days after his horror crash.
The 97-year-old flipped his car in a collision with another motorist on Thursday.
But yesterday he was seen driving again in a new motor delivered the previous day.
The Duke of Edinburgh, inset, was seen enjoying an afternoon trip while wearing sunglasses.
It came a day after a Land Rover Freelander was delivered to the Queen’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk.
He was seen driving the £68,000 replacement 4x4 into the main entrance gate to Sandringham at about 2.15pm.
It appeared the fiercely independent Duke was not wearing a seatbelt and was driving alone on a public road.
But news of his return to the road sparked a backlash on social media yesterday.
One user said: “How many other 97 year olds would be allowed to do this? GET HIM OFF THE ROAD.”
And one said: “As much as I love the Royals this is disrespectful and shameful.” But some users defended him, with one posting: “Saying bad things about a
97 year old is disgusting, it was an accident.”
And another said: “Prince Philip, involved in a crash and up and driving again. That’s the spirit we need.” In Thursday’s collision his car hit a Kia carrying a ninemonth-old baby, its mother, 28, and another woman, 45, who had a broken arm and an injured knee. The child was unhurt.
TV motormouth Jeremy Clarkson called for Prince Philip to lose his licence.
The 58-year-old said: “Yes, well, while I’m very glad that no one was seriously hurt, I’m afraid my reaction was, ‘What the bloody hell is a man of that age doing behind the wheel?’”
After being pulled from the wreckage, Philip is said to have declared: “I’m such a fool.”
He had hospital treatment for minor cuts on Friday.
Another motorist yesterday claimed Philip almost crashed into her near the Sandringham estate before his shocking smash on Thursday.
Helen Staines says the Duke of Edinburgh nearly ran her off the road as he drove in Fring, Norfolk, just six miles from where his car flipped on the
A149 in Babingley.
The incident has sparked debate around whether older drivers should face more stringent checks.
Nick Lloyd, at The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: “A balance needs to be struck between encouraging independence and protecting all road users.”