Revealed: The Queen and Prince Philip 'have seatbelt alarms DISABLED by Land Rover to make it easier for them to drive without them'
- Prince Philip, 97, was caught driving without belt and given ticking off by police
- Today, he was spotted wearing his seat belt in the passenger seat in London
- Queen was seen going without one in the back seat on a trip today
- It is claimed Jaguar Land Rover turned off seatbelt alarms at Royals' request
The Queen and Prince Philip have their seat belt alarms disabled by Land Rover to make it easier to drive without one, it has been claimed.
Philip, 97, was spotted driving without his belt fastened on Saturday, just 48 hours after his horror crash and the Queen was pictured not wearing one today.
A source told The Sun that Jaguar Land Rover was instructed to disable the alarms for the Queen and Prince Philip that indicate when you haven't put on your seat belt.
They said: 'It's so that the driver doesn't have the continuous warning beeps if they don't wear a seatbelt.'
Prince Philip has been pictured today wearing a seat belt in the passenger seat after being given an official police warning last week for not wearing one.
On the same day the Queen was snapped being driven to a Sandringham Women's Institute Meeting not wearing a seat belt.
Prince Philip pictured today being driven in London and wearing his seatbelt. Last week he was given a police warning after driving his new car along a country lane without a seat belt, just 48 hours after he was involved in a horror smash
On the same day the Queen is pictured being driven to a Sandringham Women's Institute Meeting- not wearing a seat belt
The Duke of Edinburgh was pictured wearing his seat belt, a legal requirement in the UK, in London, in a green Range Rover at 3pm this afternoon.
The passenger Prince was being driven by what is thought to be his security detail, with another member sitting in the back seat, as the car crawled along at a slow pace in heavy traffic on Park Lane.
Joshua Harris, director at road safety charity Brake, said: 'Not wearing a seatbelt flies in the face of decades of evidence and puts your life at risk.
'Seatbelt reminders are vital to get people to remember to buckle up and keep themselves safe and within the law - we would never recommend disabling these devices, unless related to a valid exemption.
'Simply put, seatbelts save lives, are required to be worn by law and you can face a hefty fine if you're caught not wearing one.'
Prince Philip was seen breaking the law on Saturday while driving his new car along a country lane a mile from the scene of last Thursday's collision, which left him shell-shocked and bloodied.
Prince Philip (pictured) was spotted behind the wheel of his brand new Land Rover on Saturday just two days after flipping his car in a horror crash
An example of the no seat belt sign seen in most modern cars, adapted for the Royals
The accident happened as Philip pulled out of a side road on to the 60mph limit A149 road. His Land Rover collided with a Kia car, sending his vehicle tumbling across the road where it ended up on its side.
The 28-year-old woman driver of the Kia suffered a knee injury and her 45-year-old woman passenger sustained a broken wrist.
A nine-month-old boy strapped into the back seat escaped serious injury.
Philip told people at the scene that the crash happened after he was dazzled by the low sun.
Prince Philip's Land Rover collided with a Kia car, sending his vehicle tumbling across the road where it ended up on its side on Thursday last week
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Despite Prince Philip passing an eye test in the wake of the crash passenger in the Kia which crashed with the Duke, Emma Fairweather, 46, said he should not be behind the wheel.
She told the Sunday Mirror: 'I respect that he's entitled to his life but he has other options to use other than driving.
'I very much hope he'll consider stopping. There's no reason why he ought to be driving at almost 100 years old.
'I understand why he would want to keep driving as long as he can and the law allows that.
'It doesn't matter if we're talking about the Queen, Prince Philip or my next door neighbour.'
Emma Fairweather, 45, was a passenger in the Kia involved in the collision between a Kia and Prince Philip on Thursday
The Duke's cavalier approach to safety was branded 'reckless' and 'crazy' by Princess Diana's former Royal protection officer, Ken Wharfe.
Mr Wharfe told The Mail on Sunday: 'The senior officers in charge of his protection have serious questions to answer because someone needs to be able to stand up to him and put a stop to this now before there is another incident.'
It is still unclear whether police have interviewed the Duke over last Thursday's crash near the Queen's Sandringham Estate, which left him trapped in his overturned Land Rover.
Depending on the outcome of a police probe, the Duke could be forced to surrender his licence.
