Prince Philip admitted to hospital

The Duke of Edinburgh was admitted to hospital after feeling unwell just months before his 100th birthday.

Prince Philip arrives for the transfer of the Colonel-in-Chief of The Rifles ceremony at Windsor castle in 2020. Picture: AFP.

The Duke of Edinburgh has been admitted to hospital, just several months shy of his 100th birthday.

Prince Philip was admitted to the King Edward VII Hospital in London, on Tuesday evening as a precautionary measure and is said to be “in good spirits”.

Palace insiders said the hospitalisation was out of an abundance of caution because of the Prince’s age. He turns 100 in June.

Both Prince Philip and the Queen, 94, received their coronavirus jabs in early January and his illness is not COVID-19 related. The Queen remains at Windsor Castle, where she has been spending the entire virus lockdown throughout the winter in a project called HMS Bubble.

Just a slimmed down number of hand-picked staff have been attending to the Queen and Prince Philip throughout the pandemic to reduce the health risks to the monarchy.

Buckingham Palace said in a statement Prince Philip had been feeling unwell for a short period before he was admitted to the hospital.

“The Duke’s admission is a precautionary measure, on the advice of His Royal Highness’s Doctor, after feeling unwell,’’ the statement said.

“The Duke is expected to remain in hospital for a few days of observation and rest.’’

In December 2019 Philip was hospitalised for four nights for a pre-existing condition but was released in time to spend Christmas with the Queen at Sandringham House.

In 2012 he missed the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations because he was in hospital recovering from a bladder infection.