London: Britain's Prince Philip, the 88-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth, injured his ankle when his horse-drawn carriage hit a tree stump on Friday, a royal spokeswoman said.
The prince was hurt when the ponies pulling the carriage bolted during a ride on the queen's Windsor estate, an area of parkland and woods next to Windsor Castle, west of London.
"It was a minor injury and he didn't even go to hospital," a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said. "He is fine." A female groom who was in the carriage went to hospital with an elbow injury, she added.
The prince, who married Elizabeth in 1947 and gave up his naval career four years later, has been a pivotal figure in the House of Windsor for more than six decades. Although he needed hospital treatment for a chest infection in 2008, the prince has a reputation as a generally robust character who still enjoys outdoor sports.
Born in Corfu in 1921, Prince Philip became a British subject and was educated in France, Germany and England before joining the Royal Navy in which he served in World War Two.
He still performs many public roles and is patron or president of 800 organisations, including charities that help young people to learn new skills.
