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Prince Philip won’t be prosecuted for car crash after giving up driver’s licence

FILE - In this Sunday, Dec. 25, 2016, file photo, Britain's Prince Philip waves to the public as he leaves after attending a Christmas day church service in Sandringham, England. AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth/File

Prince Philip will not be prosecuted for the car accident he was involved in last month.

The Crown Prosecution Service said Thursday that the Duke of Edinburgh will not face any charges over the crash near the Sandringham estate, which left a woman in another vehicle with a broken wrist.

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Philip, 97, gave up his driver’s licence following the incident, and apologized to the other car’s occupants — two women and a baby.

“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.

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Ultimately, the CPS affirmed, it wasn’t in the “public interest” to prosecute the duke.

On Jan. 17, Philip was left without injury but shaken after the Land Rover he was driving ended up on its side following the collision with a Kia.

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Two days later, he was spotted out driving in a brand new Rover and he was photographed not wearing a seat belt. Police gave the royal “advice” after public outcry.

Police said the advice given to Philip was “in line with our standard response when being made aware of such images showing this type of offence.”

He then wrote the letter of apology to Emma Fairweather, the woman whose wrist was broken, and acknowledged the intensity of the accident. (The letter was originally published in the Sunday Mirror.)

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“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.”

The duke retired from public life in August 2017, and is four months away from his 98th birthday.

With files from the Associated Press

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