Duke of Edinburgh gets first royal visitor in hospital
- Published
Princess Anne says her father is "on good form" after visiting him in hospital
Princess Anne has visited her father, the Duke of Edinburgh, at a London hospital as he recovers from his hip replacement operation.
The Princess Royal spent about 50 minutes in the hospital and afterwards said her father was "on good form".
She is the first family member to visit Prince Philip since he had the planned procedure at the private King Edward VII's Hospital on 4 April.
The Duke of Edinburgh, 96, retired from royal duties last August.
His hip problem came to light after his absence from the Easter service at Windsor and he was admitted to hospital on 3 April.
He had also missed two other recent events at Windsor Castle - the Royal Maundy Service at St George's Chapel on 29 March, and a parade on 22 March to mark Prince Andrew's appointment as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement following the surgery that the duke was "comfortable and in good spirits".
The duke announced his retirement in May 2017, after decades of supporting the Queen, as well as attending events for his own charities and organisations.
A month later he was admitted to the private King Edward VII's Hospital as "a precautionary measure" following an infection arising from a pre-existing condition.
Prince Philip carried out his last solo engagement in August 2017
He attended the Christmas Day service at Sandringham with the Queen and other members of the Royal Family
His final solo engagement was on 2 August last year, when he reviewed a parade of Royal Marines outside Buckingham Palace in his capacity as Captain General of the corps.
But he has since appeared several times at engagements alongside the Queen.
The surgery comes ahead of a busy time for the royal family, with the Duchess of Cambridge due to give birth to her third child this month, and the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in May.
- Published4 April 2018
