Queen Elizabeth's husband Prince Philip back driving - without seatbelt

File photo of Britain's Prince Philip watching an event from a car during the Royal Windsor Horse Show in the grounds of Windsor Castle, on May 11, 2018. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

LONDON (AFP) - Britain's Prince Philip has been spoken to by the police for driving without a seatbelt - just two days after the 97-year-old survived a car crash.

Images published in newspapers on Sunday (Jan 20) appeared to show Queen Elizabeth II's husband behind the wheel of his replacement sport utility vehicle.

The Duke of Edinburgh was pictured driving the new Land Rover Freelander on his wife's private Sandringham estate on Saturday.

A Norfolk Constabulary spokesman said the force was aware of the photographs taken on Saturday and that "suitable words of advice have been given to the driver". She said: "This is in line with our standard response when being made aware of such images showing this type of offence."

Meanwhile, a woman who broke her wrist in Thursday's crash near the royal country residence in Norfolk, eastern England, has reportedly complained about not receiving an apology from the Prince.

"I'm lucky to be alive and he hasn't even said sorry. It has been such a traumatic and painful time and I would have expected more of the Royal Family," Emma Fairweather, a passenger in the Kia which collided with the Prince's Land Rover, told the Sunday Mirror.

A police family liaison officer however did call to pass on a message to Emma, who was in the vehicle with a friend and her nine-month-old baby, she said.

"The message he passed on didn't even make sense. He said, 'The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh would like to be remembered to you.' That's not an apology or even a well-wish," she added.

The crash, which left the Prince's Land Rover on its side, happened as the royal patriarch pulled out of a side road onto a busy main road.

The prince walked away from Thursday's crash shaken but uninjured, according to a passer-by who helped him out of the vehicle.

The driver of the Kia sustained cuts to the knee.

In a statement last Friday, Norfolk Constabulary said: "As is standard procedure with injury collisions, the incident will be investigated and any appropriate action taken."

Prince Philip, known for his forthright manner and off-colour jokes, retired from public life in 2017 and underwent a hip replacement operation last April.

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