Prince Philip's car accident has been a 'PR disaster' for the royal family

Prince Philip’s car accident has been a “PR disaster for the royal family”.

The 97-year-old Duke of Edinburgh was driving near the Sandringham estate on Thursday afternoon when his Land Rover collided with another car carrying three passengers, including a nine-month-old baby.

While the Duke was uninjured, the driver of the Kia, a 28-year-old woman, suffered cuts to her knee while her passenger, Emma Fairweather, 46, sustained a broken wrist.

Norfolk Police also confirmed the nine-month-old baby boy in the car was uninjured.

Since the crash, Emma Fairweather has spoken out about the duke on TV, claiming he hasn’t reached out and apologised to her.

“It’s been a PR disaster,” PR expert Nick Ede told Yahoo UK’s The Royal Box.

“There might be protocol when it comes to things behind closed doors when they can’t accept liability but you can say sorry and and you can send flowers and you can make some kind of apology of some sort.

“I think the worst part of this is two days later [Prince Philip] getting a brand new car and then driving in it without a seatbelt, it’s ridiculous.”

The accident sparked immediate concerns as to whether the 97-year-old, who has had a recent history of ill-health, remains fit enough to drive.

The prince then sparked further outrage after he was photographed driving a new Land Rover Freelander on Saturday, without a seatbelt.

Norfolk Police said ‘suitable words of advice have been given to the driver’ after seeing the photos.

The Queen, who is taking her winter break in Sandringham, was also reportedly spotted in the back of her car without her seatbelt on as she was driven to church.

“He does have drivers, he does have a security team and it would have been good PR to have him driven somewhere for the first public outing rather than driving without a seatbelt,” Nick said.

You can watch the full interview with Nick Ede above.

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