Prince Philip will face no further action over his collision with another vehicle near the Queen’s Sandringham estate last month, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.
On Jan. 17, the Duke of Edinburgh crashed his Land Rover into a Kia carrying two women and a baby – both women required hospital treatment for the injuries they sustained. Two days later, local police issued the monarch “suitable words of advice” after he was pictured driving without a seat belt.
On Feb. 9, the 97-year-old voluntarily gave up his driving license, having apologized to the occupants of the other car in a letter.
“I would like you to know how very sorry I am for my part in the accident,” he wrote, adding that: “The sun was shining low over the main road. In normal conditions I would have no difficulty in seeing traffic coming… but I can only imagine that I failed to see the car coming, and I am very contrite about the consequences.”
Witnesses described how the Land Rover rolled over before ending up on the other side of the road. A man who helped free the duke from his car said he saw the vehicle “careering, tumbling across the road”. The Prince was unhurt in the accident.
On Thursday, the prosecutors decided it was not in the public interest to prosecute the Queen’s husband. Chris Long, Chief Crown Prosecutor from CPS East of England, said: “We took into account all of the circumstances in this case, including the level of culpability, the age of the driver and the surrender of the driving licence.”
“All those involved in the collision have been informed and provided with a full explanation in writing.”