The Duke of Edinburgh In Car Accident at Sandringham: January 17, 2019

[King of the Jungle]

The woman also was in a state of shock - couldn't stop screaming she says. She could still be suffering falsh backs. She wouldn't necessarily remember if Philip might have asked if they were okay.
I think the only contact should be formal, through the insurer, like is usual.
I hope a full recovery to them all. The facts and details of the crash will be investigated.

 

[ashelen]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...-crash-says-Prince-Philip-NOT-said-sorry.html
the fact that she was expecting an apologies from P Phillip make me think she is thinking it was his fault! Now she wanted some flowers from the family, I would want money compensation for pain and suffering more than flowers.
Also police advice not to talk about the accident, hummmm I wouldn't like to be told what can or can not say!

 

[Osipi]

The woman also was in a state of shock - couldn't stop screaming she says. She could still be suffering falsh backs. She wouldn't necessarily remember if Philip might have asked if they were okay.
I think the only contact should be formal, through the insurer, like is usual.
I hope a full recovery to them all. The facts and details of the crash will be investigated.

As many of us it seems have been in car accidents, I'm surprised actually that the element of shock hasn't come up before now. I know the details of my crash and rescue and transport to the hospital is very, very fuzzy in my mind and I only remember bits and pieces of what happened on scene.

Its also come out that Philip *was* taken to the hospital and released assured that he didn't suffer any major injuries. The bumps and bruises and perhaps small lacerations wouldn't have been considered serious enough to keep him but I have to think that they were there. They're not going to report every cut or bruise to the general public. There's an element of privacy here when it comes to medical treatment.

I'm with you that all communications and even press releases or "getting behind this" should be done by those that are investigating this. The last thing needed is a royal crash soap opera and a whole lot of "he said, she said, he didn't see, she saw". With the element of shock delivered to all involved, it can't be trusted to be accurate. I do think however, being the center of limelight all of a sudden and visions of dollars signs flashing in one's head would be awfully tempting to "spill the beans" and tell a story with a nice deposit going into the bank account.

One thing we know is that this has been a troubling spot of road and there had been 5 fatalities in that area and it was being looked into at the time the accident happened. This accident exacerbated the need to do something about it and do something now which is what happened.

I'm not aware of just how much public road runs through the Sandringham estate and the percentage of the private roads in relation to public roads but, as in Windsor, when we see either the Queen driving or Philip driving (car or carriage), its worded as they were spotted driving on the estate. Philip is not a man to sit in an easy chair in front of the TV and is always active and involved in the running of the Sandringham estate. You never see the Queen or Philip driving themselves around London.

I will not put at fault anyone for this accident as again, I feel its an accident in the best sense of the word. There was no intent to do harm or disregard for someone else's well being but just 4 people going about their day that met with unfortunate circumstances. I cannot believe that Philip would be insensitive to the other casualties of the crash. I do, however, realize that there's the element of shock involved here. That, to me, is the biggie.

 

[VictoriaB]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...-crash-says-Prince-Philip-NOT-said-sorry.html
the fact that she was expecting an apologies from P Phillip make me think she is thinking it was his fault!
Also police advice not to talk about the accident, hummmm I wouldn't like to be told what can or can not say!

Well of course she thinks it’s his fault - he’s the husband of the Queen. The press aren’t going to be interested in paying for a story “I almost killed the Duke of Edinburgh”.

As for not talking about the accident, maybe the police want to actually investigate what happened and come to an objective conclusion without “facts” getting muddied by misinformation - deliberate or not.

 

[Meadow]

Prince Phillip was seen driving again today. I am glad he is alright but it might be time to hang up his car keys. After a certain age here in Oz they have to go every year for a test. Prince Phillip can have a driver he loves his freedom but he also has to think about others driving. I bet the Queen and the family had a big scare.

 

[Osipi]

From what I've read, it does look like Philip gets tested once a year to remain holding a driver's license. Then again, if we think this accident looks bad and Philip's license should be revoked, how about another royal who purposely does stuff driving with no questions or any repercussions?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ce-ramming-park-gates-80-000-Range-Rover.html

 

[Iluvbertie]

In the UK it is every three years after age 70.

In Australia it is a medical certificate only - at least in NSW to over 80. My father got his drivers licence when he was 17 and never did another test in his entire life and died, still with a drivers licence aged 82. I have friends in their 80s who also got their licences when 17 and who have never had to take another actual driving test - only a medical every time their licence is renewed. One lady I know is 102 and only had her medical last week and was given the all clear to drive in Sydney, which she will keep doing.

As for the police asking people to not talk to the press about an ongoing investigation - that is simply common sense so that the police can actually investigate properly without people coming forward with 'evidence' etc that isn't true.

Trial by media - which is just another way of saying a 'witchhunt' is not the way to undertake proper judicial proceedings. The UK does believe in another concept that is foreign to many people in the media and their accolytes - innocent until PROVEN guilty - not innocent until the mob say you are guilty.

 

[Winnie]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...-crash-says-Prince-Philip-NOT-said-sorry.html
the fact that she was expecting an apologies from P Phillip make me think she is thinking it was his fault! Now she wanted some flowers from the family, I would want money compensation for pain and suffering more than flowers.
Also police advice not to talk about the accident, hummmm I wouldn't like to be told what can or can not say!

I do not know personally of anyone involved in an accident that even offered an apology to the other party or sent flowers. That is what your insurance and police are for to determine fault. If it was an accident in the truest sense of the word, there is actually no fault no matter what the age of the drivers. Usually you never even see the driver of the other car. To want flowers is really a bit beyond the pale. I am sure this accident will be gone over with a fine tooth comb. I would wait if I were her to play the victim and insisting on flowers, money or any compensation. Might hit her in her face no matter what her lawyers or she thinks she can make on this fast buck situation. JMO Have very little faith in the morals of many people anymore when a big pay-out might be involved.

 

[Dman]

The Queen is above the law. She doesn't have a licence and yet has been allowed to drive on UK roads since she became Queen. She doesn't have a passport and yet is able to travel freely around the world.

They wear lap belts I believe on many occasions.

She do have a passport. She just don’t have to use it.

The royals aren’t used to wearing seatbelts in the big official cars. The younger royals wear their seatbelts when driving privately. I’m so sure about The Queen and Prince Philip. I’ve seen The Queen in a seatbelt once in a while, when driving privately.

The thing is this whole things is being handled badly. That massive accident should’ve been a wake up call for Prince Philip and Palace officials. A personal meeting with the the two ladies involved in the crash would be great.

If I remember correctly - didn’t Princess Anne and The Queen meet with the person that help save Princess Anne’s life sure that near-kidnapping event back in the day? I remember photos was taken of the meeting as well. That is something that needs to happen here. Unless the investigation is now preventing all of that.

 

[ladongas]

Well, this is just sad.

A Prince of the UK, consort to the Queen, is so afraid of what his insurance company -or the police- will say or do, that he can’t even acknowledge his involvement in an accident that was terrifying to all concerned?

Although I understand that ‘his people’ are taking the lead on this, he certainly could and should express his concern for the others involved. It is undignified and graceless for him not to. What ever happened to noblesse oblige?

 

[Osipi]

Once upon a time, my 14 year old son wanted to learn to drive a stick shift. After grocery shopping, we headed to the school parking lot and practiced. He got good enough that he was able to circle the parking lot, go out the exit and back in the entrance. We got busted by the cops. He asked my son what he did wrong while glaring at his mother. In the parking lot was just fine. It was private property. Once he went out the exit and towards the entrance, it was on public roads and subject to all legal rules of the road. Including a license to drive.

The cop was nice and let us go but its a lesson my son will never forget. Its possible in my mind that the whole seat belt issue doesn't really come in to play much with the Queen and Philip mainly because the majority of driving that they do is on the estate's private roads. The accident happened on a public road though and is therefore subjected to *all* the rules of the road that every driver is subjected to.

 

[Heavs]

A Prince of the UK, consort to the Queen, is so afraid of what his insurance company -or the police- will say or do, that he can’t even acknowledge his involvement in an accident that was terrifying to all concerned?

Although I understand that ‘his people’ are taking the lead on this, he certainly could and should express his concern for the others involved. It is undignified and graceless for him not to. What ever happened to noblesse oblige?

It's not "being afraid of his insurance company" putting up his premiums or whatever. It's what *everyone* is advised to do, especially to also let outside investigators do their job. In this case it's just that there might have been palace PR officials muddying the water which they really shouldn't have done. And then the lucrative offers from the DM etc for the worst possible spin.


I don't think tea or meeting is necessarily appropriate at this time, with an investigation ongoing but maybe later. Someone saving Anne from kidnapping is a different scenario.

 

[Lumutqueen]

It's unfortunate that this not so honourable person has decided she needs five minutes in the sun and has gone to the Sunday Mirror with her story. I imagine if Philip offered her cream tea with The Queen she still wouldn't have heard it.

All correspondence should be done via lawyers, and this publicity cry isn't going to do her well in the long run. Might I add that the lady who has come forward to the press, was the older passenger in the car.

 

[Mbruno]

The Queen is above the law. She doesn't have a licence and yet has been allowed to drive on UK roads since she became Queen. She doesn't have a passport and yet is able to travel freely around the world.

They wear lap belts I believe on many occasions.

Wrong, the Queen is not above law as she is also bound by it in the United Kingdom. The Queen is, however, immune from prosecution. She cannot be used as a person either in civil or criminal proceedings.



BTW that is also true, I think, for all other hereditary monarchs in Europe.

 

[tommy100]

Pretty foolish to talk to the press before the investigation is closed, she better hope she hasn't said anything in all her interviews that will come back to haunt her.
I think its unfair to criticise the Queen and Philip for the message delivered through the police liaison officer, its not their fault if its wasn't delivered or if it was not as clear as hoped. The fact they thought to ask the police to say anything shows there were thinking about the other party.
I assume this woman has never had an accident in her life? Never done anything by mistake? If she does I hope the other party goes to the media about it.

Expecting flowers and an apology before its even been concluded who was at fault is pretty ridiculous.

 

[BorgQueen]

It is just wrong. He shouldn't be driving at all and I haven't felt so angry for a long time. Other people have put it more eloquently but we're talking people's lives and what could have been a more serious incident. It's a wake up call that he and those that surround him need to hear - time to stop driving!!

Agreed 100%. Even IF one accepted the view he was not at fault, he's then both stupid and arrogant enough to be driving on public road without a seatbelt?! Has he no common sense at all? What on earth is the man thinking.

 

[Pranter]

From what I have read yesterday... there is no law saying you have to wear a seatbelt when driving on private lands..which is where I am understanding Philip was driving yesterday without visible (lap belt would not be visible) seat belt.

Also read the police administered an eye test (routine in the investigation) yesterday and Phillip passed.

I don't know who caused the accident ..now days insurance companies in the U.S. try to assign a percentage of fault to each person because I guess many times both drivers have done something 'wrong'.

Also read that the location/area of the accident has had quite a number of them and that there were already things going on at the local level to reduce the speed (which I think is 60 now) down...and I don't know what else.

Let the police do the investigation...if Phillip is at fault they will pay out via insurance or private funds what needs to be covered.

The woman going to the media is just a ploy for more money (and I'm sure she's getting paid from them) ...no one should be apologizing at this point. It's one thing for the BRF (or their agents) to reach out and make sure the other people are okay...but this whole 'he never apologized' stuff is nonsense...his insurance company would have a heart attack if he had.



LaRae

 

[BorgQueen]

This is all remarkably tone-deaf on the royal family's part. Either Philip doesn't give a flying fig for public opinion (what I suspect) and/or no one was able to make him see reason. It's not so much the driving again so quickly, although the optics of that are questionable, as it is the driving again so quickly without a PPO, and without a seatbelt. The combination just screams arrogance and lack of concern for anyone's opinion or convenience except his own. That may not be the way he feels, but it's certainly the impression that is being given.

I'm really surprised that the palace PR haven't done a better job managing this, and I'm disappointed in the overall impression Philip is giving. Being the crusty and irreverent consort is all well and good, but being an arrogant horse's patootie is not.

I agree with you. It just seems that he doesn't give a damn. He might do, but his actions don't support that at the present moment. I can understand that contacting the ladies involved might not be a good idea, not because of insurance issues (as others have said, that's hardly going to matter to a millionaire) but the way the press twist things, it could be made to seem like some kind of 'buying of silence', even some sort of intimidation. BUT there is no excuse for his arrogance. It's just a bad look and been badly handled, by him.

 

[Madame Verseau]

Any chance this women had of being reached out to ended when she posed for a magazine literally holding up a cast to the camera lens, wiping away (invisible) tears from her eyes, and telling a sob story about her divorce. "Ignored and rejected?" Poppycock.

Anyone who has been in a car accident can surely relate to the horror she felt but I feared my eyes were going to get lost in the back of my head reading that one.

I especially grimaced at the the point where she described the ongoing trauma she is experiencing because of her "terror" that she was "forgotten about" whilst "trapped" in her vehicle because everyone rushed to help Philip before her. The baby was presumably not readily visible, and anyone arriving on the scene of an accident with two seemingly healthy younger woman in an upright vehicle and another victim, visibly very elderly, in an inverted vehicle, would certainly rush to the elderly man.

If it gets out this woman was paid for the interview and an amount is quoted all sympathy for her will go out the window. She'll be seen as trying to shakedown the royal family. Go through proper non monetary channels to air your grievances.

 

[Lilyflo]

The woman who was interviewed was probably approached by the press rather than the other way around. Both of those women are vulnerable to media exploitation because, unlike the DoE, they don't have aides or press officers to guide them & speak for them. I hope they get some legal advice soon because they're both shaken up and emotionally raw.

 

[Osipi]

It works both ways. Has there been any report on this woman actually asking how Philip is doing? Or was the limelight too bright?

Can't decide which is worst. The sun glare which caused the accident or the blinding limelight that causes humanity to go out the window.

 

[Lilyflo]

If anyone had interviewed me after my accident, they wouldn't have been able to print the words I used about the other driver. I was injured, shocked, angry, upset & terrified about the "what ifs". Basically I was a mess for a while, which is why I feel those women are vulnerable.

 

[Osipi]

I'm in agreement that those women had to be very visibly shook up and stunned and quite frankly, perhaps not all there. I sure wasn't. I kept asking the EMTs working on me if my dad was all right. I was driving alone and my dad had died 18 years prior to the accident. The brain can do wonderful things to protect someone when these kind of things happen sometimes.

 

[wyevale]

The woman in the car basically said the royals have ignored her.

When some stupid woman bumped into the back of my car, and gave me Whiplash injuries a few years ago.. I didn't bleat on about it to her DAYS afterwards - we 'exchanged details' and left it to the insurers to sort out...
But I wasn't expecting or attempting to make Money out of it...as the Woman in this case is.

 

[maria-olivia]

One women had his arm broken , if it is the Mother of he 10 month child who was in the car also?

 

[Pranter]

There were 2 women and one child in the Kia. No idea on who the other lady was. I think the one who is being interviewed was the passenger.


LaRae

 

[Osipi]

The driver of the Kia was the mother of the child. She hurt her knee. The woman talking to the press was the passenger and she broke her wrist. The child was unharmed.

 

[Muhler]

If anyone had interviewed me after my accident, they wouldn't have been able to print the words I used about the other driver. I was injured, shocked, angry, upset & terrified about the "what ifs". Basically I was a mess for a while, which is why I feel those women are vulnerable.

Exactly.
Before pointing fingers at the women and attribute to them all kinds of negative motives, perhaps we should step back for a moment and consider this:
Are they, as Lilyflo points out, currently in a state of shock?
Have their words been blown out of proportion by the media?
Are they merely telling things as they themselves see it right now?
Have they expressed anything in regards to claiming a big compensation? That they are now more or less invalids? And so on and so on...
Do they actually have a point?

When looking at from outside the women do have a valid point IMO.
The Duke is an elderly man, who was driving on a public road at an age where most people have long since turned in their driving license or had it revoked by their doctors, or worse by the police.
After the accident there has AFAIK been no communication between the Duke, the BRF or the court and the other persons involved.
Okay, you can claim that might be for insurance reasons and advised by lawyers - and that would perhaps be acceptable, had the Duke been an ordinary person. - He isn't.
Would it have been damaging if the Duke had asked by letter or phone: How are you? And wished a full and speedy recovery.
Flowers perhaps? Chocolate?
It's not a big song and dance act that is required, but merely a gesture.
And that I think is the key in this matter!

And then while recovering from their injures and pretty shaken up and pestered by phone calls from the press, they can a couple of days later read in the papers that the Duke has got himself a brand new car (theirs is still a wreck mind you and they probably haven't even got a replacement car from their insurance company yet) and is driving around - without a seat-belt!
How do you think they would feel about that?

If I had been involved in an accident with a royal, in which my small child had been involved and in which I had been injured, I sure would have been hopping mad, if the only response I got from the from the royal family was silence.
It's a basic human reaction.

 

[Pranter]

Exactly.
Before pointing fingers at the women and attribute to them all kinds of negative motives, perhaps we should step back for a moment and consider this:
Are they, as Lilyflo points out, currently in a state of shock?
Have their words been blown out of proportion by the media?
Are they merely telling things as they themselves see it right now?
Have they expressed anything in regards to claiming a big compensation? That they are now more or less invalids? And so on and so on...
Do they actually have a point?

When looking at from outside the women do have a valid point IMO.
The Duke is an elderly man, who was driving on a public road at an age where most people have long since turned in their driving license or had it revoked by their doctors, or worse by the police.
After the accident there has AFAIK been no communication between the Duke, the BRF or the court and the other persons involved.
Okay, you can claim that might be for insurance reasons and advised by lawyers - and that would perhaps be acceptable, had the Duke been an ordinary person. - He isn't.
Would it have been damaging if the Duke had asked by letter or phone: How are you? And wished a full and speedy recovery.
Flowers perhaps? Chocolate?
It's not a big song and dance act that is required, but merely a gesture.
And that I think is the key in this matter!

And then while recovering from their injures and pretty shaken up and pestered by phone calls from the press, they can a couple of days later read in the papers that the Duke has got himself a brand new car (theirs is still a wreck mind you and they probably haven't even got a replacement car from their insurance company yet) and is driving around - without a seat-belt!
How do you think they would feel about that?

If I had been involved in an accident with a royal, in which my small child had been involved and in which I had been injured, I sure would have been hopping mad, if the only response I got from the from the royal family was silence.
It's a basic human reaction.

The driver is not the one talking to the media. The passenger is..and it's not her child.

The car was brought down from Balmoral (not new that fast with the required safety features typically used by the BRF).

We don't know anything about their car situation (many folks have rental coverage too).

No seatbelt required when driving on private lands which apparently Phillip was driving on AND we can't see lap belts if he had one on.

He passed a police administered eye test yesterday.


LaRae

 

[Muhler]

The driver is not the one talking to the media. The passenger is..and it's not her child.

The car was brought down from Balmoral (not new that fast with the required safety features typically used by the BRF).

We don't know anything about their car situation (many folks have rental coverage too).

No seatbelt required when driving on private lands which apparently Phillip was driving on AND we can't see lap belts if he had one on.

He passed a police administered eye test yesterday.


LaRae

I was describing the human reaction.

In the aftermath after an accident, you don't sit down and think rationally at what happened, how it happened and whose fault it was. Especially when you are on top of that being contacted by the media.
You don't sit thinking: Sure, I didn't get a call, because of the layers, silly me! And no get-better card either, and I'm just okay-dokey with that. No problem.

And that the Duke got an all clear from the police is pretty academic too.
So is the fact that he was driving on private property. - He was driving. Shortly after the accident. And without a seat belt. (A lap belt BTW is IMO pretty unlikely as they are next to worthless in preventing people from smashing their faces through a windscreen or against the steering wheel.)
Whether the car the Duke drove in afterwards is brand new or brought from Balmoral doesn't matter in that stage of mind. - It's still a "new" car.
Also, I doubt very much a new car was parked outside the home of the female driver a few hours later. Not considering the circumstances.
And that it wasn't her child, doesn't mean you are not scared for that child (or for that child losing its mother). Chances are the passenger was a friend or a co-worker and as such knew the child.

And again, AFAIK there has been no personal gesture from the BRF to the women involved in the accident.

It's all about emotions.

ADDED:

This is not about pointing my finger at anyone. That will have to wait for the police having finished their investigation.

It's about me objecting against attacking a woman who has just been involved in and injured in a car accident. And whose friend was also injured. That her friend's child was unhurt is great, but the child could very well have been injured. It's quite a shocker! For anyone.
So I think we should give the women the benefit of doubt before labeling them "compensation hunters" and worse...

That I personally feel that PR-wise the BRF could have handled this much better is another matter.