Injury forces duke to cancel engagements

The Duke of Edinburgh's back injury has led to him cancelling Norfolk engagements this week.

Prince Philip was due to join the Queen to officially open the Carole Brown Health Centre in Dersingham and meet staff, residents and patients on Tuesday.

But aides said he was not feeling well enough to and was recovering from a back problem suffered when he was out carriage-driving at Sandringham last month.

The Queen arrived without her 87-year-old husband to be greeted by bright sunshine and more than 200 well-wishers, including children from the village.

She seemed visibly amused as she unveiled a plaque to officially open the health centre, which read: 'This plaque was unveiled by Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.'

The Queen, 82, wore a cerise coat and hat with fur trim, which three-year-old Jashray Mitra took a particular interest in.

Also among the large crowd were more than 100 children from Dersingham First and Nursery School, who waved handmade union flags.

When the Queen left, she was given flowers by seven-year-old Phoebe Ward, whose grandmother is a nurse at the centre. Phoebe, who has cerebral palsy, was born prematurely and weighed just 1lb 10oz.

Her mother, Victoria Ward, said: 'We see quite a few people here and it's very important to us. The Queen thanked Phoebe for coming and for the flowers.'

The Queen also met the directors of Pigeon Holdings, the company which oversaw the development of the surgery in St Nicholas Court.

Prince Philip did not join the Queen for morning service at West Newton Church on Sunday nor did he take part in the final pheasant shoot of the winter on the royal estate the previous day and missed another engagement with the Queen at Flitcham Primary School.

Buckingham Palace said he was avoiding engagements where he would be on his feet for a long time.