Prince Philip latest: Duke of Edinburgh voluntarily surrenders his driving licence

Prince Philip has surrendered his driving licence
AP
Jacob Jarvis|Rob Jobson9 February 2019

The Duke of Edinburgh has voluntarily decided to surrender his licence after "careful consideration," Buckingham Palace said today.

Prince Philip, 97, decided “after careful consideration” to voluntarily give up driving after his horror crash last month.

A statement said: "After careful consideration the Duke of Edinburgh has taken the decision to voluntarily surrender his driving licence."

He surrendered his licence on Saturday, a spokeswoman added.

The palace said the Prince's decision to hand over his driving licence was entirely his own and he will be driven from now on.

Prince Philip has been frequently known to drive himself over the years
EPA

A statement released by Norfolk Police said: "Norfolk Police 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 (Saturday 9 February 2019) 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."

Following this, the CPS also commented on the situation.

The scene near to the Sandringham Estate where Prince Philip was involved in a crash
PA

A statement said: "We review each file carefully before a decision is made and will take this development into account."

The news comes comes after an incident on January 17 when a Land Rover Freelander he was driving collided with another vehicle.

This occurred when he pulled out of a driveway on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk on to a busy A road.

Debris was scattered across the road following the crash 
PA

His car flipped over in the crash, which occurred when he was apparently dazzled by the low sun.

He was initially trapped and had to be rescued by a passing motorist.

He reportedly told rescuers: "My legs! Where should I put my legs?"

After this he was checked over by medical professionals but found to be uninjured.

The other vehicle involved, a Kia, was carrying a nine-month-old baby boy, his mother who was driving, and Emma Fairweather as a passenger.

The baby was unhurt but both women had to be treated in hospital.

Prince Philip: The Duke of Edinburgh - In pictures

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He wrote a letter of apology to Ms Fairweather, who broke her wrist in the crash.

In a note, reported by the Sunday Mirror, he said: "I would like you to know how very sorry I am for my part in the accident at the Babingley cross-roads."

He also wished her a "speedy recovery" and said he "failed to see the car coming", the Sunday Mirror reported.

File photo dated 10/02/02 of the the Duke of Edinburgh driving from Sandringham Parish Church
PA

He blamed the low, bright sun for obscuring his vision, adding he was "very contrite about the consequences".

Around 48 hours after the incident, Prince Philip was pictured on driving a new Land Rover.

At that time, the duke was allegedly driving without his seatbelt on, and Norfolk Constabulary said it was aware of the pictures and “suitable words” had been offered.

A spokeswoman for the force said: “This is in line with our standard response when being made aware of such images showing this type of offence."

The duke, who retired from public duties in the summer of 2017 and last April had a hip replacement operation, is known to remain active.

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