The Queen's Cause For Concern

No-one’s Brave Enough To Take Philip’s Keys, Even After A Near Tragedy.

- Kate Russell

As a wartime officer in the Royal Navy, Prince Philip learned to face his fears head on. The lesson is still with him today – he was back behind the wheel just a day after a potentially fatal car crash near the Queen’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

“Even at 97, he remembers what he was told when he was learning to ride as a child,” says a former aide. “If he fell off, he was told to get straight back on his horse. That’s what he has always done and why he got straight back behind the wheel. He knew it was the best way to regain his confidence.”

The crash took place when Philip was turning out from a country lane on to a main road on January 17 and didn’t see a car travelling towards him. It collided with his Land Rover Freelander, flipping the two-tonne vehicle on its side. The collision left the prince trapped and a female passenger in the other car with a broken wrist.

Onlookers helped to release the duke and overheard him telling police that he had been dazzled by the low winter sun. He was given a sight test, which he passed, and later went to hospital for a check-up. He was pronounced unhurt, although there is a possibility that he will be charged with driving without due care and attention.

A witness, lawyer Roy Warne, said, “He’s a very brave man. He didn’t make a big fuss about it, and went and asked everyone else if they were injured.”

Another witness added, “He looked so worried and told me, ‘I’m such a fool.’”

Whether Philip was wise to take delivery of an identical Land Rover the next day and make for the open road is another matter – especially as he neglected to wear a seat belt. He duly received an official warning from the police.