Prince Philip, 99, is due to spend several more days at King Edward VII’s hospital in central London while recovering from an infection. The Duke of Edinburgh was visited by Prince Charles who travelled from his home in Gloucestershire for the visit. Former press secretary to the Queen, Dickie Arbiter, has claimed that the Duke spoke to Charles about the future of the monarchy.
Speaking to the Royal Beat on True Royalty TV, Mr Arbiter said: “I think it was at the request of the Duke that the Prince of Wales visited.
“To lay the ground. Look the man is 99, he is in with an infection.
“My guess is that he will come out, he will walk out and he will go back to Windsor.
“But eventually he is going to die and he was just saying to Charles, ‘one day you are going to be the leading man of the family’.”
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It comes as the Earl of Wessex said Philip is “a lot better” as it was announced the 99-year-old would spend several more days at King Edward VII’s hospital in central London.
Prince Edward said his father was “looking forward to getting out” and the family were keeping their “fingers crossed”.
The duke was admitted last Tuesday evening as a precautionary measure after feeling unwell, and walked into the building unaided.
At the time, Buckingham Palace did not disclose the reason for the duke’s admission to the private hospital, but have now revealed he is being treated for an infection and is “comfortable”.
The earl, who said he has spoken to his father on the phone, suggested the duke, who is known for his “no fuss” attitude, was a little frustrated at remaining in hospital and he had been passing on “brilliant and lovely” messages from well-wishers.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Tuesday: “The Duke of Edinburgh remains at King Edward VII’s Hospital where he is receiving medical attention for an infection.
“He is comfortable and responding to treatment but is not expected to leave hospital for several days.”
Edward was asked about his father by Sky News’ royal correspondent Rhiannon Mills, while the broadcaster was filming a separate interview with the earl at his Bagshot Park home in Surrey.
He replied: “He’s a lot better, thank you very much indeed, and he’s looking forward to getting out, which is the most positive thing, so we keep our fingers crossed.”
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Asked whether Philip was frustrated to be in hospital, Edward laughed and replied: “Just a bit.
“I think that gets to all of us, and then you can only watch the clock so many times and the walls are only so interesting.
“We’ve had some brilliant and lovely messages from all sorts of people and we really appreciate that and so does he, I’ve been passing them on.
“It’s fantastic, thank you.”
Philip was initially due to spend a few days under medical care for “observation and rest” but on Friday sources told the PA news agency the duke, who turns 100 in June, was likely to remain in hospital into this week.
