Proceeding with caution. Queen Elizabeth II will no longer drive on public roads following her husband Prince Philip’s car crash, a source tells Us Weekly.
The 92-year-old monarch will “only drive on private property moving forward,” according to the source.
The queen’s decision comes nearly three months after her 97-year-old husband was involved in an automobile accident near her Sandringham Estate in England on January 17. A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace told Us at the time that Philip was “not injured.”
Following the incident, Norfolk police confirmed to Us that the 28-year-old driver of the other car and her 45-year-old passenger were treated for minor cuts to the knee and a broken wrist, respectively, at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn. There was also a 9-month-old baby in the vehicle at the time of the accident who was not injured.
Less than two months later, Philip, who wrote an apology letter to the injured woman, voluntarily gave up his driver’s license.
“Norfolk Police can confirm that the 97-year-old driver of the Land Rover involved in the collision at Sandringham on Thursday, January 17, 2019, has today voluntarily surrendered his license to officers,” a police spokesperson said in a statement to Us on February 9. “We will follow the standard procedure and return the license to the [Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency].”
The queen, who is the only Brit allowed to drive without a license, has yet to publicly comment on her driving. Elizabeth’s former press secretary Dickie Arbiter, however, told Us in January that “she is a very safe and cautious driver.”
Arbiter also noted to Us that the queen “would never ask her husband to stop driving, nor even suggest it.”
“They are both extremely independent people,” he explained. “It’s his decision to make, if he should stop driving.”
