Duke survives crash

Prince Philip ‘distraught’ but unhurt in royal estate collision

PRINCE Philip has given the United Kingdom a right royal fright after rolling his car in an accident near the Sandringham Estate.

The 97-year-old Duke of Edinburgh was driving his Land Rover when it collided with another car at Babingley, not far from the royal estate in Norfolk, around 3pm on Thursday local time. Philip reportedly told police he had been “dazzled by the sun” as he pulled out of a side road.

The force of the collision flipped Philip’s car on to its side, while the second vehicle, a Kia, spun off the road.

Prince Philip was not injured, and was checked by a doctor at the Sandringham Estate, where he has been staying since Christmas with his wife Queen Elizabeth, 92. Two women travelling in the second car received minor injuries and were taken to hospital. A 10-month old baby was also said to be in the car with them.

Eyewitnesses at the scene reported Prince Philip was conscious but badly shaken.

One man declared: “The Duke looked distraught. He looked quite shocked and shaken.”

“The fact anybody walked away from that is incredible. If a 30-year-old had walked away from that unhurt it would be a miracle. For a 97-year-old man, that is something else.”

Philip was breathalysed by police after the crash and returned a negative reading.

The accident triggered real concerns for Prince Philip, who at the grand age of 97 has become increasingly frail.

It also raised questions about whether the fiercely-independent Duke, who regularly drives himself around the royal estates and still drives horse-drawn carriages, should be behind the wheel of a car.

Buckingham Palace said: “The Duke of Edinburgh was involved in a road traffic accident with another vehicle this afternoon. The Duke was not injured.’’