Philip in good spirits say palace as the Queen pays hospital visit

She arrived at the King Edward VII Hospital in central London hours after Buckingham Palace said the Duke’s condition had “improved considerably”.

The Queen’s husband, 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.

The palace statement, released at lunchtime, 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.”

His illness forced the Duke 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 was visited on Tuesday by the Earl and Countess of Wessex, accompanied by their children, Louise and James. Edward had said his father was “feeling a lot better” and had been watching events unfold on television.

The Queen left the hospital shortly after the arrival of the Duke of York, after spending about 50 minutes with her husband, and smiled broadly as she emerged to cheers from a small crowd.

Philip underwent a successful procedure to clear a blocked coronary artery last December and was in hospital for four nights over Christmas.In March this year his grandson Prince Harry said the operation had given him “a new spurt of life”. Before the heart scare Philip had been fit and apparently healthy, and led the active life of a man of younger years.