The Duke of Edinburgh was involved in a car crash with another vehicle this afternoon, Buckingham Palace has confirmed. Prince Philip was driving close to the Sandringham Estate when he the accident took place, but a palace spokesperson has confirmed that he was not injured.
A statement released by the palace said: "The Duke of Edinburgh was involved in a road traffic accident with another vehicle this afternoon. The Duke was not injured. The accident took place close to the Sandringham Estate. Local police attended the scene."
Prince Philip was involved in a car crash on Thursday
Norfolk Police said officers were called to the Sandringham Estate shortly before 3pm "following reports of a collision involving two cars". A spokesman added that police and ambulance crews attended and two people in one of the vehicles suffered minor injuries. The Duke was seen later by a doctor as a precaution and confirmed he was not injured.
STORY: Prince Philip goes carriage riding in Windsor
The 97-year-old has spent the last few weeks on the Sandringham Estate with the Queen, but missed joining the traditional Christmas Day church service with the rest of the royal family, with Buckingham Palace saying he was in good health and planning to spend the day relaxing privately with his family.
Prince Philip was "very shaken" after the crash
Prince Philip has been seen less frequently in public following his retirement in the summer of 2017, and underwent a hip operation in 2018. However, he has made a good recovery following his surgery, and has been pictured on several occasions carriage riding around Windsor, where he spends much of his time.
The Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen are expected to stay at the Sandringham Estate until early February, as is tradition. The monarch traditionally stays at her country home until then to mark the anniversary of her father’s death privately, before returning to London.
Philip’s accident is not the only sad news the Queen has received during the festive break; at the beginning of January it was revealed that one of the Metropolitan Police horses used to escort Her Majesty around London had passed away. In a statement released on the Met Task Force Twitter page, a spokesperson said: "It's with the greatest of sadness to announce that PH Keston has passed away. PH Keston regularly escorted HM The Queen on various state events and other high profile occasions." The message continued: "He was a real crowd pleaser with people around London. Thank you for your service Keston. Rip."
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