Britain’s Prince Philip spent Christmas night in hospital as he recovers from heart surgery but was given a festive boost by a visit from grandsons Prince William and Harry.
The outspoken Philip — who at the age of 90 is the longest serving royal consort in British history — missed the royal Christmas celebrations for the first time as he recovered from surgery to clear a blocked coronary artery.
Six of his eight grandchildren with Queen Elizabeth II came to the Papworth hospital near Cambridge after the royal family’s Christmas church service and lunch at their Sandringham estate in eastern England.
New wife Catherine did not come with William, 29, who arrived in a Range Rover along with Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, the children of the queen’s daughter Princess Anne.
Harry, 27, drove an Audi which also carried Beatrice and Eugenie, the daughters of the queen’s second youngest son Prince Andrew. William and Harry are the sons of heir to the throne Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana. The Queen — who visited Philip on Saturday with her children — stressed the importance of family and friendship in her annual pre-recorded Christmas address to the nation which was televised on Sunday. Wearing a red dress, she said the marriage of William and Catherine in April was her personal reminder of the value of loved ones, and that in times of hardship we often “find strength from our families”.