World

Prince Philip, 97, driving car which flipped in accident

08:12 am on 18 January 2019

The Duke of Edinburgh has been involved in a car crash, Buckingham Palace has said.

The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip. Photo: AFP / Adrian Dennis

Prince Philip, 97, was not injured in the accident, which happened close to the Queen's Sandringham estate in Norfolk on Thursday (Friday NZT).

Buckingham Palace said the crash involved another vehicle and police attended the scene.

The duke was driving a Range Rover and was pulling out of a driveway onto the A149 when the accident happened.

According to eyewitnesses, the car that the duke was driving overturned.

The eyewitnesses said they helped the duke out of the vehicle. He was conscious but "very very shocked" and shaken, royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell said.

He said two people in the other vehicle were treated for minor injuries, according to reports from Norfolk Police.

The duke is back at Sandringham and has seen a doctor as a precaution, who confirmed he was not injured.

The Queen and Prince Philip have been staying in Sandringham since Christmas.

The duke, who is the Queen's husband, did not join the Royal Family for their Christmas Day church service.

He retired from public life in August 2017.

His retirement came after 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.

In April last year he underwent a successful hip replacement operation in hospital.

- BBC