London [UK]: Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II, will not face charges over the last month’s car accident that took place in eastern England in which the 97-year-old’s Land Rover collided with another vehicle, said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on Thursday (local time).
“We have decided that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute,” CNN quoted the CPS as saying.
The CPS added that it had taken into consideration “the level of culpability, the age of the driver and the surrender of the driving licence.”
On January 17, Prince Philip was driving his Range Rover when “he was involved in a road traffic accident with another vehicle but was not injured”. The Queen was not in the car when the accident took place near Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, according to the palace.
During the mishap, the Duke’s vehicle collided with another vehicle carrying two women, aged 28 and 45, and a nine-month-old infant.
The police had said that while the infant escaped unscathed, the 28-year-old woman suffered cuts to her knee, and the 45-year-old woman broke her wrist. The injuries to the two women were not life-threatening.
Later, Prince Philip surrendered his driving licence in the wake of the incident, after it became clear that he could be prosecuted.
The Duke in a letter extended his apologies to the car crash victims saying, “I would like you to know how very sorry I am for my part in the accident,” while adding, “I have been across that crossing any number of times and I know very well the amount of traffic that uses that main road.”
Prince Philip retired from 65 years of public service in August 2017. However, he is still seen in some programmes along with the royal family.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]