Royals

Prince Philip crash victim says duke should be prosecuted

Jan 22, 2019

The collision occurred in Sandringham on Thursday afternoon. Source: YouTube - This Morning (left) and Twitter/The Today Show (right)

A woman who was involved in a car crash with Prince Philip last week says she wants the Duke of Edinburgh to face prosecution if he is found to be at fault.

During an interview with British TV show This Morning on Monday, Emma Fairweather, 46, said Prince Philip was being “highly insensitive and inconsiderate” after he was spotted behind the wheel while allegedly not wearing a seatbelt just days after the crash.

“Very upset, because accidents do happen and there needs to be a period of reflection of what could be done differently to prevent the same thing happening again, and it’s just highly insensitive and inconsiderate towards me and everyone involved,” she said.

Fairweather broke her wrist in the collision when the 97-year-old duke pulled out of a side road and hit the Kia she was travelling in along with a friend – who was driving the vehicle – and her nine-month-old baby.

Asked if he should be prosecuted, she said: “Absolutely. There needs to be a decision as to whether Prince Philip and I are from the same walk of life here or not.”

She added: “I need somebody to understand that I still have medical concerns, I’m very worried I haven’t been asked for a statement from the police and I don’t know the truth of it.”

Fairweather, who had previously spoken out about how she hadn’t received an apology from Philip, also continued to dispute a witness’ claim that Philip claimed to have been “dazzled by the sun” before the crash.

“I don’t remember it being sunny that day,” she said. “I would never want to put myself in a position where I would say that the duke is not being honest. But I do not recall that that day was sunny.”

The TV appearance comes a day after the Queen asked her most trusted lady-in-waiting, Mary Morrison, to reach out to Fairweather.

Morrison, 81, who has served the Queen since 1960, reportedly phoned the woman to pass on the monarch’s “warmest good wishes following the accident”. However, there was reportedly no separate message from Philip.

The crash occurred near the Queen’s estate in Sandringham at around 3pm local time on Thursday. Prince Philip escaped the crash unhurt after the Range Rover he was driving rolled on to its side.

Witnesses who helped the duke out of the car told the BBC he appeared “shocked and shaken” following the crash. A Buckingham Palace statement at the time said: “The Duke of Edinburgh was involved in a road traffic accident with another vehicle this afternoon. The duke was not injured. The accident took place close to the Sandringham Estate. Local police attended the scene.”