The late Prince Philip was always a bit of a cheeky character – and it seems as though his driving was also a bit madcap at times.
His on-the-road antics have come back into focus as veteran newsreader Trevor McDonald recapped his time with the Prince whilst speaking at Cheltenham Literature Festival.
Sir Trevor, 85, told the audience how Prince Philip had driven his car into a puddle of mud and couldn’t get out saying he “thought his driving was slightly mad” despite having a “lovely” day with him.
But it was actually after a particularly frightening accident that Prince Philip, who died in April 2021, decided to stop driving.
On February 9, 2019, Philip surrendered his licence just weeks after he was involved in a car crash aged 97.
It was on January 17 the same year when the late Queen’s husband had pulled out of a junction and was hit by a Kia before his car landed on its side, reports MailOnline.
The Kia was carrying a nine-month-old baby, its 28-year-old mother and another woman, 45, who suffered a broken arm and an injured knee. The child was unhurt.
Roy Warne witnessed the incident and pulled over to help. He assisted Philip out of his Land Rover and said the prince “asked how everyone was and whether anyone was hurt” and said he was “dazzled by the sun” before he pulled out onto the road.
At the time, Buckingham Palace said: “The Duke of Edinburgh was involved in a road traffic accident with another vehicle this afternoon. The Duke was not injured. The accident took place close to the Sandringham Estate. Local police attended the scene.”
The prince later wrote a letter apologising for his part in the collision to Emma Fairweather, who was a passenger in the Kia and suffered a broken wrist. In the letter the Duke of Edinburgh said that he had driven across the road “any number of times”, said how sorry he was and that he had been dazzled by the “low sun”.
Ms Fairweather said: “I thought it was really nice that he signed off as ‘Philip’ and not the formal title. I was pleasantly surprised because of the personalised nature,” reported the Sunday Mirror at the time.
She added: “A lot of people said it was unrealistic that I wanted that human kindness from Prince Philip – which is what I saw this letter as.”
It is understood a similar letter was sent to the driver of the Kia. The Crown Prosecution Service previously said it was not in the “public interest to prosecute” after the collision.
At the time, Norfolk Police said: “We 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 voluntarily surrendered his licence to officers. We will follow the standard procedure and return the licence to the DVLA.”
A statement from Buckingham Palace at the time said: “After careful consideration the Duke of Edinburgh has taken the decision to voluntarily surrender his driving licence.”
