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Prince Philip car crash: Duke of Edinburgh visits hospital for check-up after escaping car crash

The Duke of Edinburgh has visited hospital for a check-up after he escaped a car crash bruised and bloodied.

Prince Philip attended hospital on doctor’s orders and was given a precautionary once-over which confirmed he had “no injuries of concern”, according to Buckinham Palace.

News of the duke’s condition comes as Norfolk Police confirmed they were investigating the crash, which took place on Thursday night on the A149 near the Queen’s Sandringham estate.

Officers said they would be taking “any appropriate action”.

Prince Philip was involved in a car crash last night near Sandringham (AP)
Prince Philip was involved in a car crash last night near Sandringham (AP)

The Palace said Philip has been in touch with the occupants of the other car involved in the accident.

“Well wishes” were offered to the two women who were injured and a nine-month-old baby that was also in the car, the Palace said.

A spokeswoman said: “Contact has been made privately with the passengers in the other car and well-wishes exchanged."

Shattered glass on the ground after Philip's crash (PA)
Shattered glass on the ground after Philip's crash (PA)

Police today said the driver of the second car, a Kia, was a 28-year-old woman who suffered cuts to her knee, while the passenger, a 45-year-old woman, sustained a broken wrist.

Both casualties were treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, and were discharged last night. Police also confirmed a baby boy was in the Kia and was uninjured.

Philip was thought to have been on his own in the Land Rover Freelander and was said to have been left “very shocked” by the ordeal.

He was overheard to tell officers at the scene that he was “dazzled by the sun.”

A Royal source said: “The duke will be monitored by a doctor over the next few days.

“He was clearly very shaken by the incident. He was not injured physically but shock and aftershock are serious considerations when dealing with a person of the duke’s age after a road traffic incident as serious as this one.”

Shocking photographs of the wreckage show the duke’s Land Rover lying on its side with a smashed windscreen and heavy dents in the side of the reinforced vehicle.

Barrister Roy Warne, 75, told how he was driving home with his wife when he saw prince’s black car roll over onto the other side of the road after a “huge collision” with a second car.

Speaking to BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme, Mr Warne said: “I went to the other car and there was a baby in the back with another man. We got the baby out and went to the black car to help and realised it was the Duke of Edinburgh.

“He was trapped in the car. I asked him to move his left leg and that freed his right leg and he could get out.”

Mr Warne said he did not remember what the duke had said to him but that it was “nothing rude” adding: “He was very shaken. He went and asked if everyone else was alright.”

He said he believed the duke had emerged from a side road on the Sandringham estate moments before the collision.

He said: “I did not see it but he came from the side road, I saw it careering and tumbling across the road and ending up on the other side.”

He said royal aides were in a second car who arrived at the scene very quickly.

He added: “There was a little bit of blood and one of the royal entourage gave me a wipe to wipe my hands.”

In a separate interview Mr Warne said: “It was an astonishing escape for everyone. People could have been killed’.

He described how he helped Philip out of the vehicle, adding: “I reached into the car, put my hands under his armpits and gently eased him out.

“He stood up and was unharmed but was obviously very shocked. “

He said: “He was disorientated and humbled. I believe he was very sorry about what had happened. The sun was very low in the sky.”

He added: “I looked down and had the prince’s blood on my hands. All I could think of is, thank goodness there wasn’t more.”

Norfolk Police said the investigation was ongoing and was being “treated as any other road traffic collision would be.”

The incident is likely to raise questions over over whether the prince should still be driving at the age of 97 - and why he was not accompanied in the car by a royal proection officer.

He retired from public duties in the summer of 2017 and last April had a hip replacement operation, but is known to remain active.

He was photographed in the summer driving a horse-drawn carriage, although he has given up competing.

He said there were five million drivers in the UK who are over 70, 265 who are over 100 and two drivers still motoring aged 107.

Today it also emerged that concerns have been previously been raised about road safety on the A149 near Sandringham.

The crash happened at the Babingley crossroads on a stretch of the A149 which runs between the town of King’s Lynn and the north Norfolk coast.

It is single carriageway and has a 60mph speed limit.

The duke and the Queen are staying at Sandringham, their residence during their traditional winter break.