Prince Philip entering third day in hospital after being taken in as a ‘precautionary measure’
Prince Philip, 99, is still in hospital after being taken into care earlier this week as a “precautionary measure” after reports he was “feeling unwell”.
Prince Philip is spending his third day in hospital in London after being taken into care earlier this week as a “precautionary measure”.
The 99-year-old Duke of Edinburgh was taken to the private King Edward VII Hospital after “feeling unwell” on Tuesday, local time, where he was said to be “in good spirits” while being monitored.
A statement from the Palace said he was to remain in hospital for several days, with sources later confirming he was not experiencing coronavirus symptoms.
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The Queen, 94, and her husband have been isolating at Windsor Castle amid the pandemic, having both received a dose of a coronavirus vaccine in January.
Prince Philip’s last public appearance was a few weeks after he celebrated his 99th birthday in July last year, when he attended a military ceremony at Windsor Castle to transfer a long-held ceremonial role to his daughter-in-law Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
He was previously photographed at Windsor Castle alongside Elizabeth, 94, to mark his birthday in June. He also attended his granddaughter Princess Beatrice’s private wedding ceremony on July 20.
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Prince Philip’s trip to hospital this week was confirmed by Buckingham Palace on Thursday, Australian time.
“His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh was admitted to the King Edward VII Hospital in London, on Tuesday evening,” the statement said.
“The Duke’s admission is a precautionary measure, on the advice of His Royal Highness’s Doctor, after feeling unwell.
“The Duke is expected to remain in hospital for a few days of observation and rest.”
He was reportedly not taken in by ambulance and was able to walk into the hospital.
In December 2019, the Duke similarly spent four nights at the same hospital as a “precautionary measure”, receiving treatment for a “pre-existing condition”. He was discharged on Christmas Eve and driven to Sandringham, where he spent Christmas with the Queen.
Months earlier in January, the then 97-year-old was behind the wheel of a car involved in a collision close to the Sandringham estate in Norfolk. Two were injured in the crash, yet the Prince escaped unscathed.
In the past, he has received treatment for various health conditions including a blocked coronary artery in 2011, a bladder infection in 2012 and exploratory surgery on his abdomen in June 2013. He also spent two nights in hospital in 2017 just before his retirement, and went on to have a hip operation in 2018.
The Duke – who is due to celebrate his 100th birthday on 10 June – stepped back from royal duties in 2017 after decades standing dutifully by the queen’s side.
He is currently the longest-serving consort of a reigning British monarch and the oldest ever male member of the British royal family.
TURBULENT CHILDHOOD
Born on the Greek island of Corfu on June 10, 1921 with Greek and Danish royal titles, Prince Philip is the great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria.
The royal had an unsettled upbringing. At 18 months old, his uncle King Constantine of Greece was forced to abdicate the throne and the family — his parents, Prince Andrew of Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg, and his four sisters — settled in France.
Prince Philip’s mother, Princess Alice, was eventually committed to a psychiatric institution in Switzerland after suffering a nervous breakdown, where she was treated under Sigmund Freud. She was born deaf but could speak three languages from lip-reading, and served as a military nurse during World War I.
Meanwhile, his father, Prince Andrew, relocated to the south of France and maintained limited contact with the rest of the family.
Philip then attended the MacJannet American School in Paris before being sent to the United Kingdom to study at the Cheam School and live with his maternal grandmother, while all four of his sisters married German aristocrats – some of whom were Nazis.
Philip relocated to a school in Germany during the 1930s, and then moved again to Scotland’s Gordonstoun School, founded by Jewish headmaster Kurt Hahn after the rise of the Nazi party.
After graduating in 1939, he attended the Royal Naval College. In July of that year, aged 18, he met his third cousin – 13-year-old Princess Elizabeth, his future wife and the future Queen of England.
THE QUEEN & PRINCE PHILIP’S LOVE STORY
Married 73 years, the couple celebrated their platinum wedding anniversary in November 2017. A constant presence at the side of the monarch, Queen Elizabeth has referred to him as her “strength and stay”.
They announced their engagement to the world on July 10, 1947, with Philip abandoning his Greek and Danish royal titles and taking the surname Mountbatten from his mother’s family.
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They were married at Westminster Abbey, with the ceremony broadcast throughout the world by radio, on November 20, 1947. Philip then became the Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich.
Their first child, Prince Charles, was born 1948, followed by Princess Anne in 1950, Prince Andrew in 1960 and Prince Edward in 1964.
A FEW OF HIS MOST CONTROVERSIAL MOMENTS
Philip has run into a number of controversies over the years — usually involving comments at public appearances that caused offence to those present.
In a 1986 visit to China, he reportedly told students from Edinburgh University: “If you stay here much long, you’ll all be slitty-eyed.”
Years later in 2002, speaking to Aboriginal elder William Brin in Queensland, he said: “Do you still throw spears at each other?”
That same year while addressing the 14-year-old member of a Bangladeshi youth group, he asked: “So who’s on drugs here? … HE looks as if he’s on drugs.”
And again, in what was a big year for Prince Philip gaffes, he told a young female police officer wearing a bulletproof vest: “You look like a suicide bomber.”
And in 2009, after being told that then-President Barack Obama had just met with the British, Chinese and Russian leaders he said: “Can you tell the difference between them?”
- With AFP
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