Prince Philip apologises to woman injured in car crash
This sad story is only noteworthy in terms of Hinterland because it raises the broader issue of the challenge of many older rural dwellers driving on rural roads. It tells us….
A “very contrite” Duke of Edinburgh has personally apologised for his part in a car crash to a woman who was left with a broken wrist.
In a letter to Emma Fairweather, Prince Philip, 97, suggested glare from the winter sun may have been to blame for the incident as he pulled out from a side road on to the A149 near the Sandringham estate in Norfolk on 17 January.
His apology emerged following widespread criticism of him and Buckingham Palace over the handling of the incident. Fairweather called the duke “highly insensitive and inconsiderate” after he was photographed less than 48 hours later at the wheel of a replacement car without a seatbelt on. She joined calls for him to be prosecuted if found to be at fault over the collision.
In a typed letter to Fairweather, seen by the Sunday Mirror, Philip wrote: “I would like you to know how very sorry I am for my part in the accident at the Babingley crossroads. I have been across that crossing any number of times and I know very well the amount of traffic that uses that main road.