Duke back at wheel days after crash
Prince Philip was spotted driving yesterday, two days after being freed from his overturned Land Rover after a collision with a car carrying two women and a nine-month-old baby.
The Duke of Edinburgh, 97, was seen behind the wheel of a Freelander wearing dark glasses and no seatbelt despite speculation that he would give up driving after the accident on Thursday.
Sources suggest he told witnesses that had been dazzled by the sun before the car he was driving collided with a Kia on the A149 close to Sandringham and overturned. Both drivers passed breath tests and police are still investigating how the crash happened. One of the women inside the Kia suffered a broken wrist. Both had other minor injuries but the nine-month-old baby boy was unharmed, police said. The duke was also unhurt although he was taken to hospital as a precaution. Witnesses said he was badly shaken by the crash and that it took four people to free him from the car.
His accident has sparked a debate about how and when motorists should give up driving and the duke’s biographer, Gyles Brandreth, said Prince Philip would accept it if told not to drive.
He added: “I think everyone will be telling him ... ‘Old boy, it’s time to hang up the keys and give yourself a break’.”
The crash could see the duke’s insurance premium rise to as much as £36,000, say estimates.
The police inquiry is continuing and a spokesman said: “As is standard procedure with injury collisions, the incident will be investigated and any appropriate action taken.”
It is suggested that officers are likely to Philip to voluntarily surrender his licence because of his age.
On Friday, the Queen’s transport manager, Alex Garty, was seen at Sandringham as an identical Freelander to the one he crashed was driven to the royal residence from Balmoral.
The duke has made contact with the women in the other car and sent them his best wishes.