Prince Philip leaves hospital after four weeks

Prince Philip has left hospital after his longest ever stay.

A screen was erected outside and the duke left the hospital and was driven away, according to PA reports.

On Tuesday, police cars blocked access for vehicles to the King Edward VII hospital where he has been recovering from a heart procedure.

Four officers on motorcycles joined about a dozen others at the entrance.

But Buckingham Palace did not issue any further update or comment on the duke. It's expected this would happen once he returns to Windsor.

Philip, 99, was admitted to hospital on 16 February on the advice of his doctor, but it was said to be out of an abundance of caution.

Two weeks later he was transferred to St Bartholomew’s Hospital in the City of London for a heart procedure, linked to a pre-existing condition.

He was in the two hospitals for a total of four weeks - by far his longest continuous stay.

He was originally admitted for an infection, walking into the hospital unaided and in "good spirits".

But he was transferred to St Bartholomew's for a heart procedure, which was successful, on 3 March. He was taken back to the private hospital to recover.

Philip was visited by his son, Prince Charles, on 20 February, while he was at King Edward VII.

His family made a few comments about his health while he was in hospital, with the Duchess of Cornwall saying he had "slightly improved", about half way through the stay.

His stay has been during what has become one of the toughest times for the monarchy, with his grandson Prince Harry making a series of bombshell statements during an interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Harry and his wife Meghan Markle levelled allegations of racism and said they felt unsupported during their time as senior royals.

Buckingham Palace released a statement on behalf of the Queen in which she promised to take the issues very seriously, but said she would address them privately.

Philip has spent most of the past year living in Windsor Castle with his wife, the Queen, making the move down from Sandringham before the first UK lockdown.

The duke retired from public duties in 2017, but carried out a rare engagement in July 2020, as he transferred one of his titles to his daughter-in-law, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.

The duke was last in hospital just before Christmas in 2019, when he was taken in on his doctor's advice as a precaution.

He was there for four days before leaving in time for Christmas at Sandringham.

He had a hip operation in September 2018 at the same hospital and was there for 10 days. It was a planned operation.

In June 2017, he spent three days in the hospital with an infection.