Prince Philip will not face prosecution over Norfolk car crash

Prince Philip will not face prosecution over his collision with another vehicle while driving near the Sandringham estate in Norfolk last month.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said that it would not be in the public interest to take further action against the 97-year-old royal, who voluntarily surrendered his driving licence at the weekend.

The crash on the A149 occurred when the Duke of Edinburgh attempted to join the busy thoroughfare from a side road. His Land Rover Freelander struck a Kia carrying two women and a baby. One of the female passengers sustained a broken wrist in the incident.

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The Duke claimed that he was momentarily dazzled by low sunlight as he pulled onto the A-road, leaving him unable to see the approaching vehicle, but the incident sparked a wider national debate about elderly drivers.

Further concerns about the Duke’s fitness to drive were sparked when he was photographed behind the wheel of a new Land Rover without a seatbelt on just two days after the crash.

Norfolk Police said that officers had been in touch with the prince to offer “suitable words of advice”.

On Saturday, Buckingham Palace announced that Prince Philip had turned in his driving licence, “after careful consideration”.

BBC royal correspondent Jonny Dymond said that the royal “is reported to have acknowledged that the collision last month was his fault”.

Norfolk Police “had been investigating the crash for three weeks”, interviewing multiple witnesses, reports The Daily Telegraph.

Chris Long, the chief crown prosecutor for CPS East of England, said this police material had been carefully reviewed.

“We took into account all of the circumstances in this case, including the level of culpability, the age of the driver and the surrender of the driving licence. We have decided that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute,” he said.