UK’s Prince Philip, 91, Hospitalized As A ‘Precautionary Measure’

is reporting that Britain’s Prince Philip, the 91-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth II, was admitted to a hospital in Scotland Wednesday after a recurrence of a bladder infection that he picked up earlier in the year.

“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 as a precautionary measure,” a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.

“The prince is likely to remain there for the next few days.”

Philip’s recent trip to the infirmary is the third time he has been hospitalized in less than a year.

Prior to the bladder infection, which Prince Philip contracted in early June during events marking his wife’s 60-year reign, he suffered a blocked coronary artery and spent four nights in a hospital over the Christmas holiday last year.

ABC News notes that the Prince was also hospitalized for a chest infection in 2008 but recovered quickly. Officials revealed in 2007 that he had been suffering from a heart condition since 1992.

Philip’s next scheduled public appearance is alongside the queen as she opens the London 2012 Paralympic Games on August 29.

In addition to the upcoming Paralympic Games, Prince Philip and his wife are also gearing up to celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary this coming November.

They met in 1939 when the Queen was just 13 years old (and reportedly smitten with Philip); the couple married eight years later in 1947.

Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth have four children — Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward — and eight grandchildren.