Britain's Prince Philip escapes prosecution over horrific car crash

Prince Philip, the 97-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth II, has escaped prosecution over his nasty car crash as authorities announced on Thursday that it would not be in the "public interest" to proceed further.

The Duke of Edinburgh escaped injury after his Land Rover Freelander collided with another vehicle on January 17 on a road near the Queen's Sandringham country estate in Norfolk. Two women in the Kia car were injured but a nine-month-old baby boy escaped unhurt.

UK's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Prince Philip will not be charged with any offence in connection with a crash involving a car he was driving last month.

The prince, who is four months short of his 98th birthday, had voluntarily surrendered his driving licence on Saturday.

"We took into account all of the circumstances in this case, including the level of culpability, the age of the driver and the surrender of the driving licence," said Chris Long, Chief Crown Prosecutor from CPS East of England.

"We have decided that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute. All those involved in the collision have been informed and provided with a full explanation in writing," he said.

The CPS said the decision was made after considering all the evidence submitted by the police and in accordance with its codes.

"The CPS assessment of any case is not in any sense a finding of, or implication of, any guilt or criminal conduct. It is not a finding of fact, which can only be made by a court, but rather an assessment of what it might be possible to prove to a court, in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors," a CPS statement noted.

Two days after the horrific accident, Norfolk Police said they had given Prince Philip "suitable words of advice" after he was spotted driving without a seat belt.

The 28-year-old driver of the Kia suffered cuts to her knee while the passenger, a 46-year-old woman, broke her wrist. Both required hospital treatment.

Days later, Philip wrote to apologise to one of the passengers in the Kia Emma Fairweather, who broke her wrist.

"I would like you to know how very sorry I am for my part in the accident," he wrote.

"The sun was shining low over the main road. In normal conditions I would have no difficulty in seeing traffic coming... but I can only imagine that I failed to see the car coming, and I am very contrite about the consequences."