Queen Elizabeth II Photographed Driving Without A Seat Belt One Year After Prince Philip’s Accident

Queen Elizabeth II was photographed driving without wearing a seat belt near the royal family’s Sandringham Estate, one year after her husband, Prince Philip, was involved in a crash nearby.

As the U.K.’s Metro reported, the matriarch of the British royal family was seen driving in her black Range Rover wearing a headscarf and winter jacket, but without her seatbelt strapped in. It was not clear how far she drove or whether there was traffic from other vehicles, but photographs showed her sitting with the sun in her face as she navigated the SUV.

Though Queen Elizabeth II is now 93, she is said to enjoy driving herself, the New York Post’s Page Six noted. The queen has been driving since 1945 when she worked in the Auxiliary Territorial Service near the end of World War II. She is also the only person in the United Kingdom allowed to drive a vehicle without a driver’s license.

Today, she does most of her driving near the royal family’s estate in Norfolk, England.

“She has been known to zip around Sandringham, including along public roads, in a black Range Rover,” the report noted.

Queen Elizabeth II‘s trip came one year after her 98-year-old husband narrowly avoided injury in a significant crash near the Sandringham Estate. As CNN reported, Prince Philip collided with a sedan carrying two women and a 9-month-old baby boy, flipping his own Land Rover onto its side.

The crash came under investigation by the Crown Prosecution Service, which ultimately decided that the prince would not face charges.

“We have decided that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute,” the agency said.

Just two days after the crash, Prince Philip was spotted driving again without wearing a seat belt. The pictures of the 98-year-old operating a vehicle while not following traffic laws caught the attention of the Norfolk Constabulary, which noted that “suitable words of advice have been given to the driver.”

It was not clear if the queen’s similar drive would garner a similar response from local police.

This is not the first time that Queen Elizabeth II has been seen driving without a seat belt. In January 2019, she was also seen behind the wheel of her Range Rover near the Sandringham Estate without wearing her seat belt. The queen and members of the royal family spend several weeks at the location every year starting just before the holiday season and extending into mid-January.