Updated February 14, 2019 23:56:43

Prince Philip will not face prosecution over a car crash last month that injured two women and left his Land Rover flipped on its side.

Key points:

  • Prince Philip escaped unhurt from the collision near the Queen’s Sandringham estate
  • The crash prompted a debate about his driving capacity
  • He voluntarily gave up his licence after the incident

The 97-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth II escaped unhurt from the collision on January 17 when he pulled out onto a main road, colliding with an oncoming car near the Royals’ Sandringham estate in eastern England.

The other driver, a 28-year-old woman, suffered cuts to her knee and a 45-year-old woman passenger in the car, which also had a nine-month-old baby on board, sustained a broken wrist.

The accident prompted a debate in Britain as to whether the Duke should still be driving at his age.

There is no legal age in Britain to stop driving, but drivers over 70 must renew their licences every three years.

All Royals, apart from the Queen, are able to be prosecuted.

The Duke of Edinburgh received a warning from police for driving without a seatbelt just two days after the crash and later voluntarily gave up his driving licence.

“We took into account all the circumstances in this case, including the level of culpability, the age of the driver and the surrender of the driving licence,” the Crown Prosecution Service said in a statement on Thursday.

“We have decided that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute.”

The Duke wrote a letter of apology to one of the injured women days after the collision, explaining that the sun was in his eyes when he pulled onto the road.

“I can only imagine that I failed to see the car coming, and I am very contrite about the consequences,” he wrote to Emma Fairweather, who received a broken wrist.

Authorities said everyone involved in the collision had been given an explanation in writing about the decision.

The Duke retired from public life in 2017, although he still occasionally appears with the Queen at official events.

In 2016, Prince Philip drove then-US president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle to lunch at Windsor Castle during their state visit to Britain, prompting Mr Obama to remark:

“I have to say I have never been driven by a Duke of Edinburgh before, but I can report it was very smooth riding.”

Reuters