Off the road for good? Prince Philip gave up his driver’s license less than one month after he was involved in a car accident that left two women injured.
“Norfolk Police can confirm that the 97-year-old driver of the Land Rover involved in the collision at Sandringham on Thursday, January 17, 2019, has today voluntarily surrendered his license to officers,” a police spokesperson said in a statement to Us Weekly on Saturday, February 9. “We will follow the standard procedure and return the license to the [Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency].”
The statement concluded: “The investigation file for the collision has been passed to the Crown Prosecution Service for their consideration.”
Furthermore, Buckingham Palace released a statement on Saturday that read, “After careful consideration the Duke of Edinburgh has taken the decision to voluntarily surrender his driving license.”
Philip, 97, was involved in an accident near the queen’s Sandringham Estate in England in January. A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace told Us in a statement at the time that he “was not injured.”
BBC News reported that the Duke of Edinburgh pulled his Land Rover onto the A149 road from a driveway when the two-car collision happened. His SUV overturned, but he remained conscious, according to onlookers.
The 28-year-old driver of the other car and her 45-year-old passenger, Emma Fairweather, were treated for cuts to the knee and a broken wrist, respectively, at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, Norfolk police confirmed to Us at the time. A 9-month-old baby boy who was also in the vehicle was uninjured.
Philip, who was spotted driving without a seatbelt days after the incident, wrote an apology letter to Fairweather on January 21 after she said she had not heard from him since the wreck. The royal told her that he was “deeply sorry” and wished her “a speedy recovery from a very distressing experience.”
The Daily Mail reported on Sunday, February 3, that Fairweather needed a titanium plate surgically implanted in her wrist because the break did not heal properly. She told the outlet that she wanted the duke “to know the full effect this is having on my life,” adding: “I’ve never had surgery before and I’ll have this titanium plate for life.”
