Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, aged 99, was hospitalized “as a precaution” in London after feeling ill and must remain “for a few days under observation”, Buckingham Palace announced on Wednesday. The Duke of Edinburgh “was admitted to King Edward VII Hospital in London on Tuesday evening, and spent a second night there on Wednesday. The British press was still concerned Thursday morning about the Duke of Edinburgh’s health, but wanted to be reassuring. “Hope you Phil better” (“We hope you feel better”) thus headlined the British tabloid The Sun Thursday morning, with a play on words between the prince’s first name and the word feel.
“His hospitalization is a precautionary measure on the advice of the doctor of His Royal Highness after he felt unwell,” the palace said in a statement. “It is expected that the Duke will remain in the hospital for a few days under observation and rest,” he added. According to a source at Buckingham Palace quoted by the BBC, Prince Philip had been feeling unwell for several days and his state of health is not linked to the coronavirus. A royal source told Sky News that Prince Philip drove to hospital and it was not an emergency admission. In early January, the 94-year-old British sovereign and her husband received their first injection of the coronavirus vaccine at Windsor Castle, west London, where they are spending the period of confinement currently in force in the United Kingdom. Prince Philip retired in August 2017, having participated in more than 22,000 official public engagements since his wife’s accession to the throne in 1952. He continues to accompany the Queen, when he wishes, for some public appearances.
Already several hospitalizations
In June 2017, Prince Philip was hospitalized for two nights to treat “an infection linked to an existing pathology”. He had had hip surgery in 2018. In January 2019, he was in a spectacular car accident when his Land Rover crashed into another vehicle coming out of a driveway in Sandringham Estate and overturned. Unscathed, he then gave up his driving license. At the end of December of the same year, he had been hospitalized for four nights at the Edward VII Hospital to be “treated under observation because of pre-existing health problems”, according to the Palace.
The queen, who is the world’s oldest monarch, has reduced the number of her public appearances, although she has no intention of abdicating. She was personally involved during the coronavirus crisis, which claimed more than 118,000 lives in the United Kingdom, the heaviest toll in Europe, intervening several times on television in the spring to boost the morale of the British. Her son and heir Prince Charles represents her more and more on trips abroad, as does her grandson William. The media regularly show her riding a horse.
British monarch spouses longevity record
Philip himself broke in 2009 the record for the longevity of the spouses of British monarchs held by Charlotte, wife of George III. The couple celebrated their platinum wedding anniversary in November 2017 at Windsor Castle, located around 30 kilometers from London. The bells of Westminster Abbey, where they were married on November 20, 1947, rang for more than three hours on this occasion to pay homage to them.
Philip was born in Corfu on June 10, 1921, with the titles of Prince of Greece and Denmark. At 18 months, his uncle, King of Greece, was forced to abdicate and his father was banished from the country after the Greco-Turkish war. With his parents and four sisters, Philip flees aboard a British Army ship. Philip is eventually sent to Scotland to attend an austere boarding school. From 1939, he studied in the British Army, at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth (southern England).
At that time he met Princess Elizabeth for the first time. Their union was celebrated on November 20, 1947. They had four children (Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward). In withdrawal, he has faithfully accompanied the queen for many decades despite the sacrifice of his career and the burden of protocol. He is renowned for his impetuous character and has built a reputation for blundering, with racist slippages and sometimes questionable jokes.
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
