Prince Philip will not be prosecuted over car crash, says CPS

The Duke of Edinburgh will not be prosecuted after a car crash near Sandringham last month in which two other motorists were injured.

The Crown Prosecution Service has decided no further action should be taken against Prince Philip, 97.

The CPS statement did not name the prince but referred to “a driver involved in a collision on the A149 at Sandringham”.

Last weekend Buckingham Palace said he had voluntarily surrendered his driving licence after the incident in which his Land Rover Freelander overturned.

His vehicle was involved in a collision with a Kia being driven by Ellie Townsend, 28, as he drove out of a driveway on 17 January.

Two women needed hospital treatment after he was apparently dazzled by the low sun as he pulled out of a driveway on the Sandringham estate. A nine-month-old baby boy in the Kia was unhurt.

Announcing the decision, Chris Long, the chief crown prosecutor for CPS East of England, said: “The CPS has carefully reviewed material submitted by the police in relation to a traffic collision on the A149 on 17 January this year.

“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.

“All those involved in the collision have been informed and provided with a full explanation in writing.”

The CPS said the decision had been made after considering all the evidence submitted by the police and in accordance with the two-stage test in the code for crown prosecutors.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “The Duke of Edinburgh respects the decision taken by the Crown Prosecution Service.”

Asked whether he could drive on private land in future, the spokesperson added: “If the Duke of Edinburgh did drive on private land that would be in accordance with all relevant regulations.”

Among lawyers, majority opinion suggested the CPS decision was consistent with the way elderly motorists who have given up their licences are dealt with normally.

But Graham Smith, the chief executive of the anti-monarchist organisation Republic, said: “For such a serious accident, it seems to be a curious response. I don’t think his age should have go him off the hook. I think his royal status would have been a factor.”

Smith said a previous incident involving a Land Rover allegedly driven by Prince Andrew into the gates of Windsor Great Park had not been investigated by police. “There seems to be a soft approach to royals when they get into a scrape,” he said.

But the royal biographer Hugo Vickers said: “If the police think he’s a dangerous driver, what is the outcome they want? They want to get him off the road. He’s off the road – fine, finished. That would happen to anyone … What else are they going to do? Are you going to fine him? Are you going to put him in prison? It’s ridiculous. The outcome is satisfactory.”