Prince Philip asked Prince Charles to visit him at the hospital because he wanted to talk about the future of the Royal Family, a former press secretary of the Queen has claimed.
During an interview on True Royalty TV’s Royal Beat, Dickie Arbiter, a former press secretary to Queen Elizabeth, said he believed it was at the request of Prince Philip that Charles visited him at the hospital and that the Duke wanted to talk about the future of the monarchy.
He added that Philip wanted to “lay the ground” concerning the future of the Royal Family.
“I think it was at the request of the Duke that the Prince of Wales visited. To lay the ground,” Arbiter said, according to the U.K.’s Express. “Look the man is 99, he is in with an infection. My guess is that he will come out, he will walk out and he will go back to Windsor. But eventually, he is going to die and he was just saying to Charles, ‘one day you are going to be the leading man of the family.'”
Prince Philip was admitted to the hospital for an infection
Prince Philip was admitted to the King Edward VII Hospital in London on February 16.
Monsters and Critics reported that the admission was not an emergency. The Duke went to the hospital after feeling unwell and walked into the hospital unaided. A doctor reportedly advised him to admit himself to the hospital as a precaution.
Palace sources later confirmed that the Duke’s illness was not related to COVID-19. The BBC reported that he was being treated for an infection.
Buckingham Palace sources said that he was responding to treatment but he was not expected to be discharged from hospital for several days, the Telegraph reported.
“The Duke of Edinburgh remains at King Edward VII’s Hospital where he is receiving medical attention for an infection. He is comfortable and responding to treatment but is not expected to leave the hospital for several days,” Buckingham Palace said in the statement released on Tuesday.
Prince Charles said the Duke was doing well
Prince Charles visited the Duke of Edinburgh on February 20 after Philip had spent four nights there.
Charles reportedly spent around 30 minutes with Prince Philip, the BBC reported.
Prince Charles later shared an update about his father’s health with the media. Monsters and Critics reported that while visiting a COVID vaccination center in Norfolk, Charles said the Duke was “okay.”
“Yes, he’s okay. They’re keeping an eye on him,” Charles said.
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, who had spoken to Philip on the phone, also confirmed that Philip was recovering and that he was “looking forward to getting out” of the hospital.