Health fears for Prince Philip

04 February 2009

0Comments | Comment on this Article

Britain's Prince Philip has sparked concerns over his health after he missed his third royal engagement in eight days.

The 87-year-old prince pulled a back muscle while carriage-driving at the royal's Norfolk estate Sandringham last month. The injury is making it difficult for him to stand for any length of time.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: "A lot of engagements involve standing for quite a long time and they can often last anything up to an hour.

His advice has been to rest his back for a period of time and he's doing that each day

"He's making a decision on a day-to-day basis about whether he's going to attend engagements. His advice has been to rest his back for a period of time and he's doing that each day. He's been advised to rest as long as possible and avoid standing for too long."

He was last seen in public 10 days ago with Queen Elizabeth, and has since missed the opening of a Norfolk health centre with the queen.

He also had to cancel an engagment at a school in Flitcham, Norfolk, and a charity function at Sandringham Visitors Centre.

The prince also failed to take part in the last pheasant shoot of the season at Sandringham.

Philip was forced to deny reports he was suffering from prostate cancer and a heart condition last year.

0Comments | Be the first to comment!