The Duke of Edinburgh has been involved in a car crash while driving near the Queen’s Sandringham estate, Buckingham Palace has said.
Prince Philip, 97, was not injured in the accident, which happened as he drove a Range Rover out of a driveway onto the A149 shortly before 15:00 GMT.
Buckingham Palace said the crash involved another car, and two people in it were treated for minor injuries.
According to eyewitnesses, the car that the duke was in overturned.
The eyewitnesses said they helped the duke out of the vehicle. He was conscious but very, very shocked and shaken, they added.
The duke is back at Sandringham and has seen a doctor as a precaution.
A witness who drove past the crash scene – near a village called Babingley – at around 15:40 said she saw an ambulance and “a heavy police presence”.
“I was just going down the A149 … and saw a lot of blue flashing lights ahead,” she said. “I saw a black, 4×4 type car on its side and me and my son were like ‘oh my word, that doesn’t look good’.
“Luckily it was just sort of on the side of the road, the road wasn’t closed in any way.
“Obviously it looked quite smashed in. I’m quite amazed he [the duke] is okay actually.”
Nick Cobb, a long-time Babingley resident, was driving past with his 16-year-old daughter Emily at about 15:10 GMT when they spotted an overturned car about 100 yards from their house.
“The Range Rover was on its side on a private road.
“The other car was well into the hedge on the opposite side of the road.
“There was lots of debris in the road, lots of glass and lots of other cars, some police cars, some from the Sandringham Estate and about six ordinary looking cars that looked as though they had stopped to help.
“We only found out that it was the duke’s car when we saw it on the news. The road was not blocked by the crash and was open when we came past.”
The Queen and Prince Philip have been staying at the estate in Norfolk since Christmas.
The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, tweeted a prayer in support to the duke, and later another one for the two other people involved in the accident.
Royal biographer Hugo Vickers told BBC News: “Any kind of car accident at the age of 97 is likely to produce shock.
“Some years ago he gave up flying planes long before he needed to because he was scared that if something happened there would be a lot of criticism.
“You know, why was he, at the age of 55, still flying a plane when he should have retired at 48 or something like that.
“So he does listen to these things – he’s very, very sensible.
“If anyone’s involved in a car accident, it’s quite a frightening thing. If he thought that he’d lost concentration or something or he hadn’t seen somebody he would realise he’s not up to it anymore.”
The president of the AA, Edmund King said high profile car crashes involving elderly drivers often spark calls for bans or restrictions on older drivers.
But he added: “If driving restrictions based on age and safety were introduced we would be more likely to restrict young drivers rather than older drivers.
“Young, predominantly male, drivers are much more likely to crash within six months of passing their test than older drivers within six months of hanging up their keys.
“Older drivers often self restrict their driving by not driving at night and only driving on familiar roads.”
The duke famously drove the Obamas when the then-US president and first lady visited Windsor in 2016.
Prince Philip retired from public life in August 2017 having spent decades supporting the Queen and attending events for his own charities and organisations.
Buckingham Palace calculated he had completed 22,219 solo engagements since 1952.
Since retiring from official solo duties, he has appeared in public alongside the Queen and other members of the royal family at events and church services.
He did not attend the Royal Family’s Christmas Day service at Sandringham last month.
Source: BBC