Prince Philip has fallen ill again, cancelling an important engagement on the eve of a service to mark the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation.
The Duke of Edinburgh, who turns 92 next week, pulled out of a gala reception at St James’s Palace at the last minute last night, citing illness.
Philip was already en route to the Royal National Institute of Blind People event when he felt sick and decided he couldn’t attend.
A palace spokesperson had no details about the Duke’s illness but confirmed he returned to Buckingham Palace and spent the night there and not in hospital.
Philip is still expected to attend a service marking the anniversary of the Queen’s coronation at Westminster Abbey tonight.
More than 2000 guests will attend the service, including all the senior members of the royal family.
The Duke has been ill with increasing regularity in the past few years.
He took ill during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations last year, spending five nights in hospital with a bladder infection.
The same infection flared up again in August, resulting in another hospitalisation.
The previous Christmas he spent four nights in hospital after heart surgery to clear a blocked coronary artery.
His recent poor health has led to calls for the Duke to slow down. He is currently one of the hardest-working members of the royal family, undertaking 350 engagements a year.
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