Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, is in “good spirits” after undergoing a hip replacement on Wednesday, Buckingham Palace has said.
The Duke, 96, was admitted to London’s King Edward VII’s Hospital on Tuesday for what palace officials described as a “planned” procedure to cure weeks of joint pain.
“The Duke of Edinburgh has undergone a successful hip replacement operation,” a palace statement said on Wednesday evening.
“He is progressing satisfactorily at this early stage.
“His Royal Highness is likely to remain in hospital for several days. He is comfortable and in good spirits.
“Further updates will be issued when appropriate.”
Philip underwent a full replacement, considered a major procedure by medics, according to the NHS.
The surgery was also undertaken with a general anaesthetic, a measure which one doctor said always carries a risk regardless of a patient’s age.
Scarlett McNally, an orthopaedic surgeon, said on Tuesday: “All operations may have complications and some patients are at greater risk.
“A person’s fitness is more important than their chronological age.
“Surgeons will always take account of these risks in helping patients decide whether they wish to proceed with surgery.”
It is understood that the Queen remained in residence at Windsor Castle during Philip’s operation, but was kept updated throughout.
The monarch, 91, may decide to visit her husband at King Edward VII’s should his stay continue into the weekend.
It was reported that the Duke had been suffering with “acute” pain in his hip for a number of weeks and it comes after he cancelled a series of rare public appearances.
He retired from his hectic schedule of events, openings and galas last summer.
Philip is not the only member of the Royal family to undergo a hip operation in their 90s.
In January 1998, the Queen Mother underwent hip replacement surgery at the age of 97.
At the time, the Independent reported she was “among the oldest patients to undergo the operation”.
She too was treated at King Edward VII’s, situated in bustling Marylebone.
Royals’ favourite hospital recently rapped over patient safety
King Edward VII’s Hospital in London describes itself as the capital’s “foremost private hospital”, but was recently ordered to improve patient safety after a series of deaths.
Opened in 1899, the Marylebone institution is favoured among senior royals, with Philip, the Queen, Prince Charles and the Queen Mother among past patients.
In 2003, the Queen had surgery at King Edward VII’s for a torn cartilage in her right knee and lesions in her face.
The Queen Mother had a fishbone removed from her throat there in 1982 and later had two hip operations in the 1990s, undergoing one when she was 97, a year older than Philip today.
Philip’s last reported stay came in 2012 after suffering the effects of standing for hours in cold, damp rain during the Diamond Jubilee pageant.
The Duchess of Cambridge stayed at the hospital for three nights the same year for treatment with hyperemesis gravidarum, or severe morning sickness, while pregnant with Prince George.
But a recent inspection by the Care Quality Commission reported a “backlog” of 671 incomplete investigations into patient incidents and no medical records of outpatients.
The hospital was rated as “requires improvement” by inspectors last year.
In the year to September 2017, 181 clinical incidents were reported, including four that resulted in death.
Surgery at the hospital, which treats about 4,000 patients a year, was described by officials as requiring “improvement”.
King Edward VII’s Hospital said at the time of the report that it “places the delivery of the highest standards of medical and nursing care to patients as our priority.”