The Duke of Edinburgh left us in no doubt about how thrilled he was to be leaving hospital yesterday, grinning and waving as he was discharged from the London Clinic.
The 92-year-old prince walked unaided to his car, 11 days after he was admitted for exploratory abdominal surgery.
Buckingham Palace had previously said Philip would be hospitalised for two weeks but doctors were sufficiently pleased with his recovery to allow him to go home early.
He laughed and joked with medical staff as her emerged from the private facility and waved and smiled for the crowd before getting into his car to be driven back home to be reunited with the Queen.
His brief appearance also gave some insight into the royal reading habits — Philip was clutching a book entitledThe Crucible Of War: The Seven Years’ War And The Fate Of Empire In British North America, 1754-1766, a serious tome which a bookmark suggested he was three-quarters of the way through.
Philip will now take a two-month period of convalescence at Windsor Castle and Balmoral in Scotland.
The Duke’s health has been failing in recent years, and he has been hospitalised with increasing regularly.
He is one of the hardest-working royals and it appears the public love him just as much as he loves them — the Duke received more than 1000 get well cards during his 11 days in hospital.
