LONDON, Feb 18, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Britain’s Prince Philip, the husband of
Queen Elizabeth II, was admitted to a London hospital overnight Wednesday as
a “precautionary measure”, Buckingham Palace said, with sources saying it was
not due to coronavirus symptoms.
The 99-year-old was said to be “in good spirits” in the private King Edward
VII Hospital in Marylebone, where the palace said he was taken on Tuesday
evening after feeling unwell.
The Duke of Edinburgh, as he is formally known, “is expected to remain in
hospital for a few days of observation and rest”, the palace statement added.
Sources told AFP he was not taken in by ambulance and had felt well enough
to walk into the hospital.
Police officers stood outside the hospital in central London.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said he had sent his “best wishes to
the Duke of Edinburgh as he undergoes a few days of rest in hospital”.
The royal family continued their duties on Wednesday, with the Queen
speaking to the Royal Navy Admiral Tony Radakin from Windsor Palace, while
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall visited a hospital in Birmingham.
– Rare appearances –
The prince and the queen, 94, have been maintaining social distancing rules
at Windsor Castle, because their age puts them at heightened risk from Covid-
19.
The couple received their first vaccinations in January, the palace said in
a rare public comment on the private health matters of the royal couple at
the time.
Prince Philip retired from public duties in 2017 at the age of 96 following
a two-night hospitalisation for an infection. He then had a hip operation in
2018.
In January 2019, he emerged unscathed after his vehicle was involved in a
traffic accident that injured two people near the monarch’s Sandringham
estate in eastern England.
Philip spent four nights at King Edward Hospital in December 2019, where
he was treated for what was described as a “pre-existing condition” and was
discharged on Christmas Eve that year.
During the pandemic he has made few public or private appearances.
He attended the wedding ceremony of his granddaughter Princess Beatrice
last July, shortly before celebrating his 73rd wedding anniversary.
The latest hospitalisation renewed concerns about Philip’s health ahead of
his 100th birthday in June this year.
Philip, the longest-serving consort in British history, was born on the
island of Corfu with Danish and Greek royal titles.
When he was 18-months-old his uncle, King Constantine of Greece, was forced
to abdicate and Philip fled the country with his parents and four sisters,
initially settling in France.
– ‘Strength and stay’ –
Philip had been formally introduced to Princess Elizabeth, the future
queen, in July 1939 and they kept in touch during the war, meeting on a
number of occasions. The pair married in Westminster Abbey in London in 1947.
The couple celebrated their platinum wedding in November 2017 at Windsor,
with Philip a constant presence at the side of the monarch, who has referred
to him as her “strength and stay”.
He shelved his personal ambitions to support his wife, sharing her sense of
duty and tradition and has put his energy behind numerous charities including
the World Wildlife Fund For Nature and the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
Yet his public appearances caused offence at times. In a 1986 visit to
China, he reportedly told students from Edinburgh University: “If you stay
here much longer, you’ll all be slitty-eyed.”
While the queen has reduced her public engagements in recent years, her son
and heir, Prince Charles, has taken an increasingly leading role alongside
his eldest son Prince William and wife Kate. Most recently, the Prince of
Wales and Duchess of Cornwall visited the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in
Birmingham and spoke to patients who — like the couple — have also been
vaccinated.
“I didn’t feel anything,” Press Association reporting Camilla telling staff
after her jab.
The family have tried to galvanise British morale during the pandemic,
which has caused more than 118,000 deaths in the country.