Britain’s Prince Philip gives up drivers license

LONDON — Queen Elizabeth’s 97-year-old husband Prince Philip has voluntarily given up his driving license after a crash last month, Buckingham Palace said on Saturday. Philip escaped without injury on Jan. 17 when the Land Rover he was driving flipped in a collision with a car close to the royals’ Sandringham residence in eastern England. “After careful consideration The Duke of Edinburgh has taken the decision to voluntarily surrender his driving license,” the royal palace said in a statement. The other driver, a 28-year-old woman, suffered cuts to her knee and a 45-year-old woman passenger in the car, which also had a nine-month-old baby on board, sustained a broken wrist. Witnesses said Prince Philip pulled into a main road from a drive. Prince Philip, who suggested low sun had affected his sight for the crash, also received a warning from police for driving without a seatbelt two days after the crash. Norfolk Police confirmed that Prince Philip voluntarily surrendered his license to officers on Saturday. It said it would forward the license to Britain’s licensing authority, the DVLA. “The investigation file for the (Jan. 17) collision has been passed to the Crown Prosecution Service for their consideration,” it added. Prince Philip retired from public life in 2017, although he still occasionally appears with his 92-year-old wife at official events. There is no legal age in Britain to stop driving, but drivers over 70 must renew their licenses every three years. —