Prince Philip admitted to hospital

Prince Philip has been admitted to hospital after missing three planned royal appearances in the last ten days.

The 96-year-old, who retired from his royal duties last year, checked in to King Edward VII Hospital in London yesterday, for hip surgery.

“His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh was admitted to King Edward VII Hospital in London this afternoon, for planned surgery on his hip which will take place tomorrow,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

“Further updates will be issued when appropriate.”

It comes after questions were raised about the Duke of Edinburgh’s health when he missed the Queen’s annual Easter Sunday service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor over the weekend.

Instead of having her husband by her side, the Queen was accompanied by extended members of the royal family, including Prince William, Kate Middleton, Princess Beatrice and Eugenie and Zara Phillips.

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“The Duke of Edinburgh has an issue with his hip which is affecting his mobility,” an insider told The Express at the time.

“There’s no cause for alarm but frankly he’s a proud man and doesn’t want to appear crocked in public.

“He’s not called the Iron Duke for nothing.”

The Easter tradition wasn’t the only thing the Duke missed though, as he was also absent from the Maundy service last week - where the Queen hands out money to local people - and an appearance at Windsor Castle to mark his son, Prince Andrew’s new job as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards.

Despite stepping down from his royal duties last year, the Prince is still a very active member of the royal family and is even said to have attended more events that the Queen last year.

However, his health has been an ongoing issue since last year, when he was admitted to hospital in June for an infection.

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