THE Duke of Edinburgh was yesterday admitted to hospital with a chest infection and has cancelled a string of engagements.
The duke, 86, walked into the private King Edward VII hospital in London yesterday afternoon for "assessment and treatment", Buckingham Palace said.
He had been suffering from a heavy cold all week but was yesterday said to be sitting up and worki
ng on his correspondence.
The duke played a full role in last week's state visit by president Nicolas Sarkozy of France.
He was pictured smiling and laughing with the president's new wife, Italian Carla Bruni, but he was forced to pull out of a memorial service for Sir Edmund Hillary on Wednesday.
A palace spokesman said: "The Duke of Edinburgh has been admitted to the King Edward VII Hospital for assessment and treatment for a chest infection.
"His Royal Highness's programme of engagements for the weekend have been cancelled."
He is being treated by the Physician to the Queen, Harley Street doctor Professor John Cunningham.
The duke had been expected to attend a dinner for Macmillan Cancer Support at the Harte and Garter Hotel in Windsor last night.
He is scheduled to accompany the Queen on a visit to the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth on Thursday.
Prince Philip, who has been married to the Queen since 1947, has generally enjoyed good health even into old age, with most of his ailments being sports-related; and even as an octogenarian he has continued to compete in carriage-driving competitions.
But he is likely to be monitored closely during his current illness, because of his age.
The King Edward VII hospital has long been the first port of call for sick members of the Royal Family.
The Duchess of Cornwall was the latest in a long line of Royal Family members to go to the exclusive clinic when she underwent a hysterectomy in March last year.
The Queen was admitted to hospital for the first time in July 1982 to have a wisdom tooth extracted.
In 2003, the clinic's surgeons also removed minor – non-cancerous – growths from the Queen's face and operated on her knee.
The hospital has 61 private en-suite, air-conditioned rooms, which cost £500 a night.
The full article contains 378 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
