Prince Charles paid a visit to his father Prince Philip, 99, who has been hospitalized in London since Tuesday, on Saturday afternoon.
• Read also: Prince Philip will remain hospitalized this weekend
• Read also: Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth, hospitalized for “a few days”
The heir to the throne arrived at around 3:20 p.m. GMT at King Edward VII Hospital on Saturday, exiting a car, with a surgical mask on his face, and left after a visit of about half an hour. He is the first member of the British royal family to visit Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, since his admission to hospital as a “precaution” on Tuesday evening.
“His hospitalization is a precautionary measure on the advice of the doctor of His Royal Highness, after he felt unwell,” Buckingham Palace explained in a statement.
A source at the palace clarified that he was not affected by COVID-19. Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II received a first injection of the coronavirus vaccine in early January at Windsor Castle, west London, where they are staying during the lockdown in force in the United Kingdom.
The palace said on Friday that Prince Philip would “probably stay in hospital over the weekend and until next week,” adding that the nonagenarian was in good spirits.
Prince Philip retired in August 2017, having participated in more than 22,000 official public engagements since his wife’s accession to the throne in 1952. He continues to accompany the Queen, when he wishes, for some public appearances.
In June 2017, he was hospitalized for two nights to treat “an infection linked to an existing pathology”. He underwent hip surgery in 2018.
In January 2019, he was in a spectacular car accident when his Land Rover crashed into another vehicle coming out of a driveway in Sandringham Estate and overturned. Unscathed, he then gave up driving.
At the end of December 2019, he was hospitalized for four nights at King Edward VII Hospital “due to pre-existing health problems”, according to the palace.
Prince Philip is due to celebrate his hundredth birthday on June 10.
His granddaughter, Princess Eugenie, daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, paid tribute to him by announcing the names given to her son on Saturday. The little boy, born on February 9, was named August Philip Hawke Brooksbank.