PHOTOSPrince Philip Leaves The Hospital On Christmas Eve To Spend The Holidays With Queen Elizabeth
Dec. 24 2019, Published 5:01 p.m. ET
Prince Philip was discharged from the King Edward VII hospital in London on December 24. The Duke of Edinburgh headed to Queen Elizabeth’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk, where the family gathers for Christmas every year.
“The Duke of Edinburgh has today left hospital after being discharged by his Doctor and is now back at Sandringham,” the palace said in a statement on December 24. “His Royal Highness would like to thank everyone who sent their good wishes.”
Prince Philip, 98, walked out of the hospital upright and looked to be in good spirits.
The retired royal was admitted to the hospital on December 20 for “observation and treatment.” The Buckingham Palace explained in a statement that “The Duke of Edinburgh (traveled) from Norfolk this morning to the King Edward VII Hospital in London for observation and treatment in relation to a pre-existing condition.” The palace added, “The admission is a precautionary measure, on the advice of His Royal Highness’ Doctor.”
His son Prince Charles gave an optimistic update of Prince Philip on December 23. “He's being looked after very well in hospital. At the moment that's all we know,” Prince Charles, 71, revealed during a visit to Yorkshire, England.
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Prince Charles also told the Associated Press, “When you get to that age, things don’t work so well.”
Upon Prince Philip’s release from the hospital, he was flown via helicopter to the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, where Queen Elizabeth, 93, has been since December 20. The family spends every Christmas at the country estate. On Christmas morning they are expected to go to St. Mary Magdalene’s church, and then they return to Sandringham House for a traditional Christmas meal.
Prince Philip’s latest hospital stay happened after years of medical problems. In 2011, he had heart surgery after finding out he had a blocked coronary artery. In 2018, he had to have hip replacement surgery. He skipped out on the family’s Easter Sunday service because of the surgery but was still able to attend Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding.
The Duke of Edinburgh was also involved in a car crash in January 2019. He voluntarily surrendered his license as a result.
