Prince Philip, 97, surrenders his driving licence ‘voluntarily’ weeks after crashing his Land Rover near Sandringham and injuring two woman before taking to the road again without wearing a seatbelt
- Prince Philip, 97, was involved in a car accident last month which left two injured
- Although uninjured, the Duke of Edinburgh had to be pulled from the wreckage
- Buckingham Palace said today that he had ‘voluntarily’ given up his licence
- Norfolk Police have confirmed they are still investigating the cause of the crash
The Duke of Edinburgh has voluntarily given up his driving licence just weeks after he crashed his Land Rover which sent two women to hospital.
Buckingham Palace confirmed Prince Philip relinquished his licence on Saturday.
The 97-year-old apologised for his role in the accident after his vehicle hit another car before landing on its side.
Prince Philip left two people requring hospital treatment after his Land Rover rammed into a Kia
Just two days after the crash, the Duke was spotted driving without a seatbelt, sparking widespread backlash.
A statement from Buckingham Palace said: ‘After careful consideration the Duke of Edinburgh has taken the decision to voluntarily surrender his driving licence.’
The retired barrister who pulled the Duke from the wreckage said he might have been overly cautious giving up his licence.
Roy Warne said: ‘No one should be driving if they don’t feel safe to do so however old they are but in the Duke of Edinburgh’s case we don’t have the full facts so it is very difficult to express a view.’
Mr Warne, who with wife Victoria helped free the royal and tend to the injured women driver and passenger, said: ‘He’s surrendering his licence but maybe the accident wasn’t his fault. We simply don’t know.
‘He’s done what he felt was best and maybe he had been under pressure so I can’t be surprised either way. But younger drivers are much more dangerous than older drivers.’
A Norfolk Police said: ‘We can confirm that the 97 year old driver of the Land Rover involved in the collision at Sandringham on Thursday 17 January 2019 has today voluntarily surrendered his licence to officers. We will follow the standard procedure and return the licence to the DVLA.
The investigation file for the collision has been passed to the Crown Prosecution Service for their consideration.
Witnesses revealed Philip was shaking and pleading ‘get me out’ after his Land Rover crashed while he was out driving alone without a protection officer.
Just two days after the crash, Prince Philip was back behind the wheel
He escaped injury but Emma Fairweather, 46, broke her wrist and called for Prince Philip to be prosecuted if found to be at fault.
According to one eyewitness, the Kia, driven by a 28-year-old mother, ‘T-boned’ the duke’s car and ended up in a hedge with smoke coming from the engine.
On January 21, Prince Philip sent her a letter wishing her a ‘speed recovery’ and that he ‘failed to see the car coming’, the Sunday Mirror reported.
The sun was blamed for hindering his vision and he wrote he was ‘very contrite about the consequences’ of the collision.
Philip is believed to have just left Sandringham, marked in red, and was turning on to the A149 at this junction when he collided with a Kia and his car cartwheeled on to the other side of the road, circled blue
A driver claims Prince Philip almost crashed into her as near Sandringham estate before his shocking crash on Thursday (pictured)
A motorist who swerved around the wreckage (aftermath of crash pictured) said the duke was ‘hanging from his seat’ and saying ‘my leg is trapped’. Four rescuers had to free him from his upturned Land Rover
He said he was ‘deeply sorry’ and explained while he was familiar with the junction he could ‘only imagine’ the low sun stopped him seeing her approaching.
The Duke appeared to admit responsibility in a letter to Ms Fairweather several days after the accident.
In his 181-word typed letter, Prince Philip wished her a ‘speedy recovery from a very distressing experience’.
Two days ago, Norfolk Police confirmed they were still investigating Prince Philip’s crash on January 17 when his Land Rover rolled over after being hit by a Kia.
The accident happened as Philip pulled out of a side road on to the 60mph limit A149 road.
The Duke, who has given a police statement, could be charged with careless driving.
Witnesses yesterday revealed the 97-year-old was shaking and pleading ‘get me out’ after his Land Rover crashed (aftermath pictured) while he was alone and without a protection officer