Buckingham Palace has confirmed that 96-year-old Prince Philip has been admitted to the hospital. The aging Duke of Edinburgh has been ailing as of late, and as People reports, His Royal Highness was admitted to King Edward VII Hospital in London on Tuesday afternoon for pre-planned hip surgery. According to statement released by Buckingham Palace, the surgery is slated to take place on Wednesday. Over the last week, Prince Philip’s health has prevented him from attending traditional Maundy and Easter services at Windsor Castle’s St. George’s Chapel alongside Queen Elizabeth.
“His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh was admitted to this afternoon, for planned surgery on his hip which will take place tomorrow.”
According to a royal source, Prince Philip had planned to take part in the annual Maundy Thursday service but opted out of the event after experiencing some “trouble with his hip.” Leading up to the Easter week events, Philip also missed Prince Andrew’s appointment as the new Colonel of the Grenadier Guards on March 22. The palace has not confirmed whether his ongoing hip issues were the reason that the prince the opportunity to formally hand his role over to his son, a change in leadership that actually took place at the end of 2017.
Prior to December of 2017, Prince Philip had held the position of Colonel of the Grenadier Guards since 1975.
Before resigning his position as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards at the end of last year, Prince Philip officially retired from his public life earlier in 2017. The royal has suffered from several health issues in recent years, including a brief hospitalization last June. According to Buckingham Palace, that two-day stint in the hospital was the result of an infection related to an unnamed “pre-existing condition.”
Officially, Queen Elizabeth has supported Prince Philip’s decision to retire. The royal couple has been married for 70 years. Despite officially retiring in 2017, Philip appeared publicly with Queen Elizabeth and the rest of the royal family last December for Christmas morning church services and even participated in the family’s yearly walk in Sandringham.
The expected recovery time for Prince Philip’s scheduled hip surgery has not been officially announced, and it is unknown if His Royal Highness will be fully ambulatory in time to attend Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on May 19 at St. George’s Chapel.