The Queen failed to wear a seatbelt for the second time as she was driven to church this morning just days after her husband Prince Philip crashed his Land Rover near the royal estate at Sandringham.
She and Philip, 97, were both spotted driving without seatbelts this week despite the Duke of Edinburgh’s horror smash on Thursday.
But the Queen appeared to go without a belt for the second time in 48 hours as she was chauffeured to the service in a black Bentley today.
The 92-year-old monarch wore a light brown coat and hat decorated with feathers as she headed to the service at St Peter’s church in Wolferton, without her recovering husband.
Her son Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, joined his mother at the service near the estate in Norfolk where the royal family celebrated Christmas last month.
The Queen failed to wear a seatbelt for the second time in 48 hours as she was chauffeured to the church service in a black Bentley today
Royal passenger: The Queen arrives at St Peter’s church in the back of a car after both she and her husband were seen apparently driving without a seatbelt this week
Queen Elizabeth II attends a service at St Peter’s church in Wolferton this morning just days after her husband’s crash
The Queen (left) wrapped up warm for today’s church service, while her son Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, joined his mother at the church near the Sandringham estate where the royal family spent Christmas together
The church is just over a two-mile drive from Sandringham House, and dozens of well-wishers gathered behind a rope fence to see her arrive.
The Queen was spotted driving her Range Rover without a seatbelt on Friday a day after Prince Philip’s crash, little more than a mile from the scene of her husband’s accident.
Police have spoken to the Duke after he was pictured driving a new Land Rover alone and without a belt just 48 hours after his crash.
A Norfolk Constabulary spokeswoman said the force was aware of the pictures of Philip driving and that ‘suitable words of advice have been given to the driver’.
She learned to drive with the Army in 1945, before she became Queen, and does not need a licence.
Under UK law it is compulsory to wear a seatbelt if there is one fitted but the Queen is immune from any civil or criminal proceedings.
Buckingham Palace insisted earlier this week that the monarch was careful to ensure she privately complied with the law.
The crash on Thursday afternoon happened as Philip’s Freelander pulled out of a side road on to a stretch of the A149 and collided with a Kia.
The Queen was spotted driving her Range Rover without a seatbelt on Friday a day after Prince Philip’s crash, little more than a mile from the scene of her husband’s accident
The Queen waves from the back of the Bentley as it drives her away from church following the Sunday morning service
Prince Andrew and the Queen wave as they head back to Sandringham after attending church on Sunday morning
The Queen speaks to a clergyman (left) and smiles outside the church (right) as she attends the Sunday morning service
One of the Queen’s aides opens the door for her while a clergyman waits to greet her after the monarch was driven to the church service near Sandringham on Sunday morning
The 28-year-old Kia driver injured her knee while a passenger broke her wrist but Buckingham Palace said tonight that Philip had suffered ‘no injuries of concern’.
The 45-year-old passenger was named today as Emma Fairweather, who broke her wrist, and claimed no-one from the Royal Family has contacted her to offer an apology.
Ms Fairweather described how she ‘couldn’t stop screaming’ after the crash and said she had ‘no idea if he’s sorry at all’.
Buckingham Palace had said the Duke exchanged ‘well wishes’ with the driver and passenger but Ms Fairweather said she had received no such contact.
Barrister Roy Warne pulled Prince Philip from the wreckage of his Land Rover and said the royal told officers he had been ‘dazzled by the sun’ before the collision at 2.45pm on Thursday.
The Duke of Edinburgh, 97, could be seen driving his new car on his own without a seatbelt into the main entrance gate to the Sandringham estate on Saturday afternoon
The Queen and Philip, 97, were both spotted apparently driving without seatbelts this week despite the Duke of Edinburgh’s horror crash (pictured) which saw the Land Rover flip on its side
The Duke reportedly said ‘I’m such a fool’ as he was pulled from his wrecked car on Thursday after it flipped on its side from the impact in the crash in Norfolk.
He appeared to be travelling without a police protection officer, individuals who guard all senior members of the Royal Family when at public and private events.
The 97-year-old passed a police eyesight test on Saturday morning as the investigation into Thursday’s crash continues.
Nick Freeman, the lawyer dubbed Mr Loophole, has said the duke could be prosecuted for driving without due care and attention if he was deemed to have made a mistake.
But he added: ‘If the sun was so low and right in your eyes, sometimes it’s impossible to see, and that may well have been the case, and that would afford him a defence.’
The duke, who retired from public duties in 2017 but remains active, could also avoid prosecution by surrendering his licence, according to the lawyer known for representing celebrity clients like David Beckham.