Prince Philip’s being treated for an infection, that’s why he’s been hospitalized for so long

The Queen's Awards for Enterprise

Prince Philip has now been in a London hospital for a little over a full week. He checked into the hospital – reportedly walking in unaided – last Monday evening after feeling poorly at Windsor Castle. Philip has had frequent trips to the hospital in recent years, but this is one of his longest stays. People thought it was curious – and sad – that Prince Charles visited his father in the hospital over the weekend, and it caused a flurry of social media speculation that Philip was close to passing over. Still, Prince William then confirmed that Philip was “okay” and they’re just keeping Phil in the hospital out of an abundance of caution. Now we know why: an infection.

The Duke of Edinburgh is being treated for an infection and is not expected to leave hospital for several days, Buckingham Palace has said. Prince Philip was admitted to London’s King Edward VII’s Hospital last Tuesday as a precaution after feeling unwell. The 99-year-old husband of the Queen is “comfortable and responding to treatment”, the palace said.

The Earl of Wessex said his father was feeling “a lot better” and appreciated “lovely messages” from the public. Prince Edward told Sky News: “He’s looking forward to getting out, which is the most positive thing, so we keep our fingers crossed.”

Both the duke and the Queen, 94, received Covid-19 vaccinations last month. Prince Philip’s admission to hospital was not related to coronavirus. The couple, who celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary last November, have been spending lockdown at Windsor Castle with a small household staff.

Prince Charles visited his father for around 30 minutes on Saturday afternoon. A Clarence House spokesman said Prince Charles returned to his Highgrove residence in Gloucestershire after the visit.

[From The BBC]

An infection explains the time spent in the hospital – they want to ensure that he’s responding to the antibiotics or whatever treatment they’re giving him. My mom has had to stay in the hospital for days just to receive an antibiotic IV for an infection. The danger of sepsis is very real, especially with older patients. But they say Phil is responding to treatment, so good for him. My guess is that it’s something like a 10-day antibiotic treatment. Hopefully this will be the end to all of that ghoulishness. And it’s not like Philip could have gotten an “infection” from the shock of hearing about Harry and Meghan’s Oprah interview.

BRITAIN LONDON PRINCE PHILIP RETIREMENT

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WENN.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

17 Responses to “Prince Philip’s being treated for an infection, that’s why he’s been hospitalized for so long”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Snuffles says:

    Penny for his thoughts? 😛

    Seriously though, glad he’s OK. Mainly because we won’t have to endure endless articles on how Meghan and Harry stressed him into hospital and killed him.

    May he live long past 100!

    • Cecilia says:

      I honestly hope he makes it through another 2 years at least. I don’t want meghan and harry back on that island. Not even for a funeral

  2. Becks1 says:

    Well i’m glad it seems like he’s going home soon – if he died around the time of the pregnancy/Oprah/Sussexit announcements it would definitely be blamed on Meghan (sorry to be cold/callous, but we all know its true.)

  3. Joan Callamezzo says:

    Maybe I’m just cynical but they couldn’t treat him at the palace hospital? I think the fact that he’s been in a public hospital for this long, and given his age, that his condition may be much worse than they’re letting on.

    • Snuffles says:

      Nah. At 99, he would need to be in a hospital setting to be constantly monitored. You just can send him home with a prescription.

    • anotherlily says:

      The fact that Prince Charles was allowed to visit and the hospital confirmed that the visit complied with current visiting rules, does not look hopeful.

      The hospital currently allows one visitor in ‘exceptional circumstance’ .

      ”Permission for visiting must be discussed directly with Matron’s Office, and would be allowed under the following circumstances:

      One regular carer will be allowed for patients with additional needs e.g. dementia, learning disabilities. They will be swabbed to allow them to continue with caring commitments.

      For patients receiving end of life care.”

      The hospital confirmed that Charles’ visit complied with the rules which must mean that Philip is receiving end of life care. If his condition can be improved so that care can be given in another setting he may be able to return home. But this is only going one way.

  4. Missjo says:

    Syphilis?

  5. Harper says:

    Could be they didn’t know the source of the infection and it took several days of testing to find out what was wrong and now he’s being treated. Being a hospital inpatient at 99 years old is risky in itself. As long as he is admitted he’s not out of the woods.

  6. KellySunshine says:

    My grandma is 97 and recently had a UTI, and she was completely out of it before being treated for the infection. It’s scary when someone her age has any type of infection. It doesn’t take much to take them out…

    • Livvers says:

      My grandmother’s last few years started with chronic, recurrent UTI’s that eventually required treatment in hospital. The infections were really just a sign that her body was slowly shutting down, because over the course of her treatments it emerged that she had developed diabetes (in her 90s!), and her heart was failing as well. She was super sharp until the end, but sometimes our bodies just wind down. (I miss her every day)

  7. Doctor says:

    10 days is a long time to be in hospital for an “infection,” unless he developed one there. Maybe he is having problems with his swallow and aspirating (the infection would then be aspiration pneumonia). If he and the family have to make decisions about feeding tube VS hospice that will drag things out. Even with sepsis and a bloodstream infection he should be able to be discharged on IV antibiotics. Obviously he deserves privacy and I don’t blame them for leaving things out, but much is being left out.

  8. Amy Bee says:

    If Phillip has an infection I doubt very much he entered hospital unaided as touted by BP.

  9. candy says:

    This is very serious, 10 days is a long time! My grandmother died of sepsis following a surgery, she never bounced back from the infection.

  10. Kalana says:

    Imagine if everyone had access to this kind of healthcare?

    And for someone who wanted to come back as a deadly virus, Philip is quite committed to doing what it takes to prolonging his very long life.

  11. Catherine says:

    They probably took him to that hospital because it’s the one he had been treated at before so it’s a location and doctors that he is familiar with. Maintaining familiarity/routine can be critical to elderly patients. I agree that a 10 day treatment of IV antibiotics is not unusual is this case. It was reported that he had bee feeling poorly for a while but refusing additional treatment so the infection had probably progressed. Also, he is elderly so infections can have a significantly negative effect on vital functions. Having him in the hospital means that have constant monitoring of those things. I once took 10 days of antibiotics for strep throat. And it not impossible that he walked in unaided even with a severe infection. You can have an infection without fever and still be mobile. He is robust for 99 and reportedly extremely stubborn. Many elderly people take a particular pride in being able to get around without assistance. One of the rumors that circulated when he retired from public life was that he was having difficulty standing and walking for the sustained periods of time to do engagements regularly and did not want to use a cane in public so I can totally see him insisting on walking into the hospital.