Prince Philip hospitalized for an infection following a busy semi-retired schedule

Trooping the Colour: The Queen's Birthday Parade

The Duke of Edinburgh “retired” several months ago, but you would never really know. He still escorts Queen Elizabeth II to many events, and he’s still seen on a more consistent basis than the Duchess of Cambridge. Prince Philip has been busy in the past week – he appeared at Trooping the Colour, trading his military regalia for a morning suit. He attended the Cartier Queen’s Cup polo match with his wife over the weekend. And yesterday, he attended the Royal Ascot Day 1 with his wife. He was so busy, he got sick. He was hospitalized late last night.

Prince Philip has been admitted to a hospital for treatment of an infection and will not be able to attend the Queen’s speech, Buckingham Palace said Wednesday. Philip, Queen Elizabeth II’s husband, was admitted as a precautionary measure and is in good spirits, the palace said.

Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, is 96 and recently said he was stepping down from public events. He has suffered heart ailments in the past. The palace said the infection is related to a pre-existing condition.

The palace said Philip is being treated at the King Edward VII Hospital in London after being admitted Tuesday night. Queen Elizabeth II plans to attend the horse races at Royal Ascot on Wednesday afternoon, the palace said.

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

“Queen Elizabeth II plans to attend the horse races at Royal Ascot on Wednesday afternoon.” Stiff upper lip and all of that. Queen Liz is worried about her husband of course, but not worried enough to miss Royal Ascot, one of her favorite events. Horses > husband. The Queen also did her Queen’s Speech thing at Parliament today, wherein the Queen delivered a speech written by Prime Minister Theresa May’s government, all about May’s agenda. Philip obviously didn’t go – Prince Charles went in his father’s place. Politico previewed the speech, claiming that it was more than possible that if the speech is poorly received, another round of elections could be in Britain’s near future. The speech given (which ended around 7 am EST) was noted for its brevity and “slimmed down” agenda. May is putting all of her eggs in the Brexit basket.

A very important update: was the Queen’s hat sending a message?!

Royal Ascot - Day 1

Queens Cup polo

Photos courtesy of WENN.

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31 Responses to “Prince Philip hospitalized for an infection following a busy semi-retired schedule”

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  1. lightpurple says:

    Every ailment is a serious threat at that age. Wishing him well.

  2. astrid says:

    Sorry about Prince Phillip. He’s a hard worker. The Queen’s hat game is the bomb

    • Giddy says:

      Especially that lavender one!

    • GiBee says:

      How I wish I could work as hard as Prince Philip! Showing up to events, insulting people’s heritage, cutting ribbons, then going home – how exhausting.
      Instead my tax dollars go to keeping him around in order that he may make as many racist comments as possible before finally shuffling off this mortal coil.

      Also, regarding the Queen’s hat sending a message – she was pro-Brexit, not surprisingly, so it’s unlikely.

    • Sarah says:

      Agree to both.
      On another topic, where’s Meghan been hiding? I thought they were engaged already and she would be at Trooping the Colors . That is what I was told here.

      • PrincessK says:

        This is my question too. I am getting worried, they need to make a public appearance together soon and then move towards engagement.

      • notasugarhere says:

        She wouldn’t be at Trooping (or any other official event) unless they had already publicly announced an engagement.

        They need to do what is best for them. We’re coming up on the 1 year anniversary of them starting to date. They might already know, or they might break up, or marry after another year or two. They may not know, so why would we?

        I don’t think any announcement, if one is coming, would be until after the anniversary of his mother’s death and Balmoral this summer. If they were going to announce, I think they’d wait until after Invictus Games in Toronto, maybe an announcement around Oct, skip Nov, or into December after she finishes filming.

  3. spidey says:

    Bet he will be really sorry to miss the visit to the House of Commons!

  4. vanna says:

    I think he only announced his impending retirement in the fall. He is still on his normal schedule. Wish him well and I hope he fights this off quickly.

    • Chinoiserie says:

      I recall that as well. Hopefully he is by then good enough health to enjoy being retired for a while.

    • notasugarhere says:

      Yes, I think it was an announcement that helped plan a less busy schedule from the moment of the announcement. As they’re often booked a year in advance, it will take time to extract him from a lot of commitments.

  5. Snowpea says:

    He’s a racist old codger who is spectacularly out of touch.

    • BearcatLawyer says:

      True, but he shows up and does his job.

      • Snowpea says:

        Granted. But seriously – google ‘Phil’s racist gaffes’ and be prepared to be astonished that someone as esteemed as the Queen’s hubby is on the record as saying such dreadfully racist and bigoted things.

      • Chinoiserie says:

        Snowpea, I am not saying what he said were great but imo they are stereotype kind of humor stuff and not some racist agenda speeches like you would infer form your comments.

    • Poopsicle says:

      I looked it up as you suggested. I read them and I laughed. He’s actually pretty funny. I don’t think he’s racists.

  6. Sharon Lea says:

    Hope he is ok, he is a trooper. Had to laugh at Kaiser’s line, “…he’s still seen on a more consistent basis than the Duchess of Cambridge.” So true.

    • Llamas says:

      It’s pretty sad. He’s sick and the lamebridges still won’t do their job. ITs disgracegul, really.

      • Sharon Lea says:

        I agree Llamas, it took them so many years to gear up and make the slightly higher number of engagements we are seeing. I do think Kate is looking healthier, so that is nice to see.

  7. Leelee says:

    I wish him well, the Queen and Duke have been present for my (and most of us) entire life. The photos of her and her perky hats popping up in the papers (pre-internet) and ladies magazines was an ever present fixture in the 1960’s and 70’s. I fear the Queen will follow Phillip shortly after his demise and that will be the end of the monarchy. Charles will spend his brief tenure sitting things down and The Cambridges will move to Canada to a life of obscurity.

  8. MM says:

    His brain has been infected most of his life. No wonder Diana used to call them “Snakes & Lizards”. His eyes are an abyss I can’t look into, creepier than Hannibal Lector lol

  9. nicegirl says:

    Best wishes for a full and fast recovery.

  10. Tiffany says:

    I have this feeling that the time might be coming for Phillip. This is not his first hospital stay this year.

  11. CynicalAnn says:

    It sounds like he gets bladder infections frequently. (Very common in elderly men.) They probably want him to have IV antibiotics and monitor him.

  12. Citresse says:

    Feel better soon HRH Prince Philip.

  13. PrincessK says:

    It was insane for him to dress up in morning suit and top hat in the boiling heat at Ascot, he really looked ill and everyone could see it. The same stupidity that saw him on the boat on the Thames shivering during the Queens Jubillee and that got him in hospital too. He is 96 and can no longer keep up with his 91 year old wife who still goes horse riding.

    • CynicalAnn says:

      “Stupidity” or fortitude, right? He clearly wants to stay active and has been very self disciplined and strong his whole life.