Duke back behind the wheel as ‘unhappy’ crash victim speaks out
Mother-of-two ‘frustrated’ at how Buckingham Palace has handled crash making headlines across world
THE Duke of Edinburgh has been photographed back behind the wheel as one of the women involved in last Thursday’s car crash was said to be “unhappy” with how the Palace had handled the accident.
The Duke, who did not appear to be wearing a seatbelt, was seen driving a replacement Land Rover alone through the main gate into the Sandringham Estate yesterday afternoon, wearing tinted glasses. Travelling without any protection officers, the Duke, 97, drove himself, despite an ongoing investigation into his collision with a Kia carrying two women and a nine-month-old baby boy. A source last night confirmed that the Duke took and passed a police eyesight test yesterday.
The Palace is facing questions about the way the accident was handled. The Sunday Telegraph can reveal that Emma Fairweather, 45, a mother of two, has told family and friends she is unhappy at how the episode has been dealt with by police and the Palace. She broke her wrist in the crash, which left her friend with cuts to the knee.
Last night, it emerged that the Duke had been given “suitable words of advice” by Norfolk Police after pictures of him without a seatbelt were published.
A Palace spokesman declined to respond to allegations that the Duke did not speak to the injured passengers himself in the days after the collision.
A MOTHER-OF-TWO whose wrist was broken when the car she was in collided with Prince Philip’s Land Rover has told friends she is “unhappy” with the way Buckingham Palace has handled the accident.
The Sunday Telegraph can reveal that Emma Fairweather, 45, was the passenger in the Kia car last Thursday when it struck the Duke of Edinburgh’s Land Rover near the Queen’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk.
Ms Fairweather has since complained of feeling “overwhelmed” by the experience of being involved, firstly, in a crash and, secondly, in one involving the husband of the monarch.
Last night, friends and relatives described Ms Fairweather as a “warm and caring woman”, as well as a devoted mother of two teenage children. They said she had told of how “she still has not been cleared” as fit and well after suffering the injury to her wrist.
Others have claimed Ms Fairweather, as well as the 28-year-old female Kia driver who suffered cuts to her knee, had felt “unhappy” because they said they had been “advised” by police not to talk about the collision. No one from Norfolk Police was last night available for comment. The younger woman’s nine-month-old baby was in the back of the Kia and survived without any injuries after the vehicle struck the Duke’s two-ton car on the A149, sending it rolling across the road.
There was no suggestion either car was speeding. The two women and the Duke were breathalysed but none of them was over the drink drive limit. Four people had to help the visibly shaken Duke out of the Freelander.
Others went to the aid of the two women and baby in the Kia amid fears that smoke coming from vehicle could lead to an explosion or fire.
A source who knows Ms Fairweather, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the mother-of-two was “frustrated” with how the episode had been handled as she was caught up in a crash that has made headlines around the world.
The woman explained: “She said: ‘It’s suddenly become so overwhelming that I’m quite tempted to simply go home. I’m just wondering if I’m out of my depth and should retreat’.”
Last night, Ms Fairweather claimed Buckingham Palace had made no effort to contact her directly. Instead she received a message from the Queen and Prince Philip via a police family liaison officer. “I’m lucky to be alive and he hasn’t even said sorry,” she told the Sunday Mirror. “It has been such a traumatic and painful time and I would have expected more of the Royal Family.”
Buckingham Palace revealed earlier that “contact had been made privately with the passengers in the other car and well-wishes had been exchanged”. However, it remains unclear whether the Duke made that approach or whether it was an aide.
Meanwhile, some locals have complained that it required an accident involving a member of the Royal family on a notorious stretch of the A149 to prompt the council to lower the speed limit from 60mph to 50mph.
Among those killed on the road was Sandra Greenacre, a 51-year-old police community support officer, who died in an accident in 2013.
Danny Child, 27, her son, from King’s Lynn, said: “It is disrespectful to everyone who has had a road traffic collision on the A149. It’s been an issue for the last five to six years, but now a royal has had a crash something has been done.”
It is not the first time the Duke has been involved in a collision. In 1996, Prince Philip, then 74, was involved in an accident in Brandon, Suffolk.
Ms Fairweather also told friends how she had been moved by the “numerous” family members and former neighbours eager to ensure she was safe and well. One neighbour in Kings Lynn where she lived for three years before moving last year, said: “She will be terribly shocked to be caught up in this whole thing. I can’t imagine how she feels about it all.”
It is understood Ms Fairweather summoned Samantha Fairweather, 38, a relative, to the scene of the accident to comfort her. Victoria Warne, 72, who stopped at the scene with her husband, Roy, 75, said the prince “looked so worried”, adding: “I’m such a fool.” Additional reporting by Helena Horton and Mike Wright.
‘It’s suddenly become so overwhelming ... I’m just wondering if I’m out of my depth and should retreat’