FILE – In this Sunday, Dec. 25, 2016 file photo, Britain’s Prince Philip waves to the public as he leaves after attending a Christmas day church service in Sandringham, England. Buckingham Palace says Prince Philip the husband of Queen Elizabeth II had been in a traffic accident and is not injured. The palace said the accident happened Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019 afternoon near the queen’s country residence in Sandringham in eastern England. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, file)
LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II’s husband, Prince Philip, was involved in a car crash Thursday while driving in rural England but was not injured.
Buckingham Palace said Philip, 97, was checked by a doctor after the accident and determined to be fine.
The palace said the two-car accident happened Thursday afternoon near Sandringham Estate, the queen’s country retreat in eastern England.
Witnesses told the BBC Philip appeared “very shocked” and shaken after the collision, which caused the Land Rover he was driving to overturn.
The scene near to the Sandringham Estate where Britain’s Prince Philip was involved in a road accident in Sandringham, England, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019. (Sam Russell/PA via AP)
Norfolk Police said the drivers of both cars, a Land Rover and a Kia, were given alcohol breath tests under routine procedures following a collision. The force said both drivers tested negative.
“The male driver of the Land Rover was uninjured. The female driver of the Kia suffered cuts while the female passenger sustained an arm injury, both requiring hospital treatment,” the police force said in a state.
The two women from the Kia were treated at nearby Queen Elizabeth Hospital and discharged, the statement said.
Witnesses described seeing broken glass and debris at the scene. Police did not say how the accident happened. There was no indication anyone was arrested for a driving offense.
Philip had a passenger in his car, but the palace did not identify the person. It is likely the prince was traveling with a protection officer, a standard security procedure for Britain’s senior royals.
Philip has largely retired from public life. He has seemed to be in generally good health in recent months.
He and Elizabeth, 92, have been on an extended Christmas holiday at Sandringham, one of her favored rural homes. /muf