Royal Watch News

Prince Philip taken to hospital as 'precautionary measure'

Aug 16, 2012, 12:01 GMT

Prince Philip

Britain's Prince Philip was taken to hospital as a 'precautionary measure'.

The Duke of Edinburgh, 91, was driven by ambulance to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary while staying at nearby Balmoral with wife Queen Elizabeth yesterday (15.08.12) after suffering from a recurrence of a bladder infection.

Philip - who originally suffered the infection shortly before the Diamond Jubilee concert on 4 June - is likely to remain in the NHS hospital for the next few days.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: 'The Duke of Edinburgh has had a recurrence of the bladder infection that he had earlier in the summer and has been admitted to hospital for investigation and treatment. The prince is likely to remain there for the next few days.'

In June, Philip was taken ill after spending hours on a ceremonial barge in rain and a cold wind as part of a flotilla of 1,000 vessels on the River Thames to mark the queen's landmark Diamond Jubilee.

Royal aides said he was treated with antibiotics and made good progress before being released six days later.

In December he had a heart operation where surgeons cleared a blocked coronary artery and inserted a stent to ease the problem.

Since then, Queen Elizabeth has tried to get him to slow down.

Queen Elizabeth's cousin Margaret Rhodes said: 'It was horribly worrying for the queen when he had that little heart scare at Christmas. She was trying to make life easier for him, but he doesn't like that. He wants to be able to carry on in his old ways, which is wonderful, at his age. You go on doing something you've always done until for some reason you can't do it any more.'