I wrote up the Prince Philip-car crash story yesterday evening and I used some of the first reporting from the British press, which confused me. I thought the Brits were saying that Philip was traveling with two women in the back passenger seats, and they were the ones who were injured. That’s not the case – the Duke of Edinburgh was driving his Land Rover and he got into an accident with a Kia. Inside the Kia, there were two women and a baby and both women were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. I merely asked about seatbelts, which caused some people to accuse me of “victim-blaming,” which is one of the weirdest things ever – I honestly wondered about seatbelts because A) Diana died because she wasn’t wearing a seatbelt (among other reasons) and B) I’ve seen that many older people, both men and women, take issue with wearing seatbelts all the time. My question about seat belts was mere curiosity about everyone involved.
In any case, the point of the story was always going to be “97 year olds should not drive under any circumstances.” It’s not ageist to say that. Seniors do get to an age where they simply cannot be trusted to drive any vehicle, and it should be evaluated on a case by case basis – there are 65-year-olds who have no business behind the wheel, and there are 77-year-old drivers who are still sharp as a tack. But past 90? Let’s say “nope.” There’s some talk about how the Queen could “order” Philip to never get behind the wheel again. But this doesn’t bode well:
A replacement Land Rover has been delivered to Sandringham just hours after the Duke of Edinburgh was involved in a car accident. The Land Rover Freelander arrived at Sandringham by delivery truck on Friday morning. According to The Daily Mirror, the Land Rover is an exact replica of the one involved in the collision yesterday near the Sandringham Estate.
A delivery driver drove the car though the gates of Sandringham after it was removed from the delivery lorry. On Thursday afternoon, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Landrover turned over in the road after it collided with a Kia. Prince Philip was uninjured and is currently resting at Sandringham House alongside The Queen. Both the Duke of Edinburgh and driver of the Kia were breathalysed, with both readings coming back as negative.
Personally, I’m not 100% sure that this was Prince Philip calling up the car dealership for a replacement vehicle just minutes after he wiped the blood off his hands. I think it’s more likely that this is some complicated insurance/security thing where someone just got a replacement for the totaled (?) SUV immediately because they have to maintain the fleet of royal vehicles. I also wouldn’t put it past Land Rover to just send another SUV immediately – without it being requested – because Land Rover has some kind of sponsorship deal with the Royal Family. As in, they provide heavily discounted (perhaps even free) vehicles for all of the royals in exchange for Land Rover being the official vehicle sponsor of the Windsors. It’s weird though. And someone should have thought better of it.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red.
Oh good
My money is on replacement of a fleet vehicle per a contractual obligation, nothing more. Doubt it was “Philip’s” vehicle.
This made me chuckle. Game, set, match for the Old Folks.
Jeeze
Your country is coming apart at the seams over Brexit, the privilege of the monarchy is a huge bone of contention among the citizens, the future of the monarchy is in question, the 97 year-old privileged prince totals his car and possibly another in a car crash involving a baby and two innocent adults, and someone’s first thought is, “Let’s get a shiny new Land Rover to the palace in broad daylight ASAP!” Yup, I’d say the words “stupid” and “tone deaf” are in order here.
Here’s hoping that he’s found at fault for this accident and loses his license. I’m all for the elderly feeling independent, but him still driving at 97 is foolish and dangerous. I wonder if he’s been involved in other accidents that we haven’t heard about.
Not to mention he had health issues and he is beyond senior years. One minute he cannot walk the next he is driving? Not cos he has to but cos he wants to, not like he had to pick up medicine cos he is all alone and cannot afford a cab. He gets away with everything.
Not defending Philip in any way here, but the future of the monarchy is not in question. It’s not remotely a part of the national conversation right now.
I assume the BRF has a fleet of cars and they sent over a replacement because it’s not like Philip is going to go rent a car while his in the shop. Hopefully his RPOs will insist he stop driving as a security measure.
That said, I agree that the optics of this are terrible. This is absolutely not the moment to have a fancy car delivered to your house.
Thank you.
My dad (74) hates seat belts as well. I asked him the other day why he didn’t wear one and he told me a friend of his died while wearing one. He saw the body. I just pray he’s safe.
I would think there’s a fleet of royal RR and they just transferred one over to him at Sandringham. Wouldn’t it need to be security fitted? Can’t do that in a day or few hours. Or maybe you can.
I doubt your fathers friend died because he was wearing a seatbelt. Sadly he likely died in spite of it.
I actually know someone who died because their car flipped over and they couldn’t get out quickly because the seatbelt was one of those automatic ones, not the kind you fasten yourself. And after a few minutes the car went on fire, and they couldn’t escape.
HOWEVER this is obviously extremely rare, an aberration, and seat belts save so many millions of lives that they should always be worn. But I know a lot of people (it happened when I was in HS so everyone knew about this crash) who used this story — and continue to use it to this day — as an excuse to not wear seat belts, which is crazy and sad.
@other Renee that’s kinda callous of you….you are NOT her father and you just have to take it with a grain of salt….im sure if he saw the body he probably saw the seatbelt…. that doesnt mean seatbelts are unsafe in totality just that one instance and it mentally and emotionally left a mark on her dad….
DANGGGG you just gonna diminish her dad’s experience. Not cool
My mom is 73 and if she’s not driving she often has to be told to put on her seatbelt. Just last night I was out for dinner with her, my brother, and SIL; my mom was in the front passenger seat, and my brother had to nudge her to buckle up. She grumbled a bit about how she dislikes wearing one in the winter because it’s not comfy over her coat and etc, but she did put it on. I was honestly surprised, because it’s not only a safety issue – here you can get a big ticket if the police catch you without one on.
Maybe it’s a “grumpy old people” habit? LOL.
I thought the Royals didn’t accept discounts and freebies? or is that just another lie they feed us peasants?
@Original Lala, seriously— does this rule apply only to the women’s designer clothing? This family is so hypocritical. SMH
Oh, they definitely get discounts. And the Middletons wasted no time demanding their “royal discount” once they were royal adjacent. And they also have been known to accept freebies on Kate’s behalf and then hand them over to her, thus circumventing the No Freebies rule. The royals will take everything they can get while their country burns.
The royal family has a lease agreement with Land Rover. This car was either a replacement sent from Land Rover, or it is one of the other cars he keeps at one of the various royal estates. But since it came on a lorry I bet it was from land Rover,
If he had to retire from royal duties because of his age and health, he has no business being behind the wheel of a multi-ton vehicle on public roads. Good lord the optics of this are bad.
That’s exactly what I was thinking.
You’ve said it perfectly!
Good job he wasn’t on a public road then .
The road the accident happened on is a private road through the grounds that is also used as an access road by the public .
Reports say that the road has a bunch of blind spots and there have been various other accidents on it
The A149 (where the RTC happened) is a public road.
And here we thought he was too feeble to leave the house or had maybe secretly died already.
I hope someone sent those ladies a replacement vehicle just as quickly….
I hope they get first class medical care paid for by the Royals. Maybe a lawsuit is in order?
It slightly piqued my interest that both drivers were breathalysed. My car was ploughed into by a car that failed to stop at a four-way stop sign. The driver was also quite elderly. It was a pretty clear cut situation, and the issue of a breathalyser — at least for me — was never even suggested. This was several years ago, and I was driving in the US, so perhaps different laws. But I thought this was a clear cut situation too in which the Prince/Duke pulled out of his drive into the road, hitting another car. Frankly I don’t see why the other driver’s breath should be tested at all. It does read as much better PR for the Royals to say ‘they were both breathalysed’ than if just the Duke/Prince was breathalysed. Perhaps this is just standard procedure for all car accidents in the UK and should not be read into.
@ Ocho, it is standard practice in the UK if the police are called to an accident. Also they would breathalyse both drivers immediately before carrying out with their investigations. Seems clear the D of E pulled out in front her, but we and, until the investigation is complete, they would not know if the speed the other car was going was a contributory factor as well. Better to test both drivers than be left red faced later.
I think that’s a great policy. It isn’t standard practice in Canada, but they did recently change the law to allow RCMP to take breath samples without requiring probably cause, so I’m guessing that it will become standard practice here in time.
My mother refuses to wear her seatbelt. We always fight about it and even though she gets mad at me I still win every time. Not on my watch, mum!
It is compulsory to wear a seatbelt in the UK unless you have a medical exemption.
It’s compulsory almost everywhere to wear a seatbelt, just like it’s against the law to drink and drive. People break the law all the time.
His car flipped?!
Which makes you wonder what speed the other, smaller car was travelling, so they could both be at fault in different ways. Unless it was just a case of the angle they hit – I’m no expert on these things.
Interestingly enough, that particular road is the subject of discussions this very week into reducing its speed limit.
Re a replacement vehicle – probably the Duke is not the only one who drove the damaged one.
Wasn’t it a Kia Sedona so similar size and weight?
I hope it’s the case of replacing a fleet vehicle and not a shiny new ladrover for PP.
I really hope this is investigated to the same extent as it would be for any other driver but I have my doubts.
Jesus, the optics on this are terrible. Has anyone bothered to send over a new car seat for the nine month old??
Or a driver and a maid to the woman who broke het wrist?
He pulled out in front of the Kia and caused the accident. Because he didn’t see them or look and because he’s 97 and shouldn’t be driving. He could have killed that 10 month-old baby. Why does he still have a license? It’s not up to the Queen, is it? He’s a threat to public safety and local officials should take away his license.
It is super weird because the Freelander model ceased production a few years ago? It was an entry level model. Odd that there would be a brand new one immediately available.
I was about to say the same. I wonder if it’s just one of the royal fleet.
Hmmm….yes but if it was part of the royal fleet why go to all the bother of having it delivered in a lorry??
I expect that the Duke will continue to drive regardless of anyone else’s opinion anyway. Happy to hear no one was seriously injured. Anyone can have an accident, regardless of age.
The odds of having a disability – physical, mental, or both – that interferes with driving increase with age. Without disability, reaction time slows down with age, strength and coordination decrease, and visual acuity is worse. People are more easily distracted. As well, the odds of being injured in a crash increase with age as people become more frail. Age really is a factor. People need to be tested more often and some can use adaptive strategies or vehicles, but it’s realistic to include age as a factor in permission to drive.
@Skipper: he already has!! See my comment below. Unreal.
That is arrogance and hubris personified…and I DO see him jumping on the telly to his FAVORITE Range Rover dealer…and speaking with the Manager who he has a long standing relationship with and DEMANDING they send him over another vehicle…outfitted to his royal specifications…PRONTO!
I wouldn’t let him drive around the estate…
If a broken hip can put you in the grave…that means you can’t ride THIS ride…or drive NO car….
This is so tone deaf that it’s not even funny. The man could have killed a baby and the baby’s mother has a broken wrist and a new car shows up 24 hours later for him to smash again? Wow.
South Park did a hilarious episode about seniors driving, in which the old people in town all went to a town hall meeting and when it got out there was complete chaos. I suggest everyone watch this clip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P7_t4-WsB8
I’m having a stressful day at work and this gave me a tremendous chuckle, thanks for sharing!
OMG that is hilarious I am practically crying
😂
Here to say the same thing: that South Park episode was gold!!!
If he’s apparently too old and frail for royal duties, then why is he still allowed to drive around? What a selfish douche. Also he looks like the grim reaper.
Just heard on the radio, he won’t be allowed to drive on public roads again..
Whether this was Land Rover’s initiative or not, it looks bad.
Well maybe that vehicle is used to ferry others around too and they have places to be. After my hubby totaled my car I had to quickly get a replacement so I could get to work. Was that bad optics? 🙄
Assuming you don’t have multiple vehicles and chauffeurs on your payroll, so no.
Apples and oranges…
They need a tracker in all the vehicles so that his RPOs can see if he is leaving the estate. This has probably given him a huge scare and I doubt he’ll want to drive again.
The police can be funny with RTAs involving the elderly. My sisters friend came off really badly when involved in a fatal RTA with an 80 year old driver and his wife. The police immediately would only look at her as the guilty party and would not look at any other evidence from witnesses. They decided she was either using under the influence, on her phone, speeding and when all of those weren’t true they claimed she was distracted by her toddler. They ignored the fact he over took her and that she had been found with foam in her mouth and her eyes rolled back. It’s not only royals who get preferential treatment.
There is an article in the DM today — with photos — showing that he is ALREADY out driving again. *Without* a seatbelt. And it said he was “turning into Sandringham” which leads me to believe he was, once again, on a public road.
Are you kidding me?! Unbelievable. I hope he faces criminal charges for the accident because he clearly does not give a sh!t about any of this.
Not sure if the link will go through, but here it is. The arrogance of this man!
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6610325/Philip-rides-Duke-Edinburgh-97-wheel.html