Prince Philip ‘on the mend’ as Queen visits hospital

THE Duke of Edinburgh is “mending very well” as he recovers from a bladder infection, his son the Duke of York said last night.

Philip, who was forced to miss some of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, has been visited by Andrew and the Queen.

The duke, the Queen and Philip’s second son, told reporters outside the King Edward VII Hospital in London: “Oh, he’s mending very well. Thank you very much indeed.”

Prince Philip’s visitors arrived separately, with the Queen spending 50 minutes at her husband’s bedside, and Andrew an hour and a half.

The Queen smiled broadly when she came out of the hospital as a small crowd of wellwishers cheered.

Buckingham Palace said the duke’s condition had “improved considerably”.

Philip, who is 91 on Sunday, was admitted to hospital on Monday, the day after he spent several hours braving the elements for the Thames River Pageant.

A palace statement said: “The treatment of his infection continues with antibiotics. He is likely to remain in hospital over the next few days. He is in good spirits.”

The illness forced Philip to miss several key events of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, including a service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral and the concert outside Buckingham Palace.

He has already been visited by the Earl and Countess of Wessex, accompanied by their children Louise and James.

Edward said that his father was “feeling a lot better” and had watched events unfold on television.

Asked how the Queen was coping without her husband, Edward added: “She’s bearing up but missing him, obviously.”

Last December, Philip underwent a successful procedure to clear a blocked coronary artery and was in hospital for four nights over Christmas.

Before the heart scare he had been fit and apparently healthy, and led the active life of a man of younger years.

In March this year, his grandson Prince Harry said the operation had given him “a new spurt of life”.

Earlier yesterday, the Queen passed human rights protesters on her way to a lunch with Commonwealth heads of state.

She was joined by more than 70 guests, including Prime Minister David Cameron and leaders from across the association of nations, as they arrived to angry scenes.

Hundreds of Tamil and human rights campaigners gathered outside Marlborough House in London in opposition to Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s presence at the meal.

Their chants echoed around the forecourt as guests arrived.

Mr Rajapaksa was jeered as he swept through the main gate in a Range Rover.