Prince Philip was hospitalized for a 'preexisting' condition, says Buckingham Palace

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
• Click here to share on LinkedIn (Opens in a new window)
• Click to email a friend (Opens in a new window)

(CNN) - Prince Philip was admitted to the hospital for a "pre-existing" condition, Buckingham Palace said Friday in a statement. A real source told CNN that he was not taken there in an ambulance, he entered by his own means.

“The Duke of Edinburgh traveled from Norfolk this morning to King Edward VII Hospital in London for observation and treatment in relation to a pre-existing condition. Admission is a precautionary measure, on the advice of your Royal Highness doctor, ”the statement said.

Queen Elizabeth II returned to Sandringham in Norfolk on Friday as scheduled. She will spend Christmas there.

• MIRA: Who is Prince Andrew? Queen Isabel's 'favorite' son who is involved in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal

Felipe retired from public life in 2017. The 98-year-old patriarch is rarely seen in public these days and is believed to spend most of his time at the Wood Farm in Sandringham. Although he no longer makes commitments, he remains a patron, president or member of more than 780 organizations.

The British sovereign and her husband celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary in November. For decades, Felipe was a constant support for the British monarch, becoming the British consort with more years of service in 2009.

When he moved away from royal duties, he had made more than 22,200 solo commitments since his wife's ascension to the throne in 1952.

• READ: 'The Crown' already has new Prince Felipe

Philip married the then Princess Isabel in November 1947 at Westminster Abbey.

Born as the prince of Greece and Denmark on the Greek island of Corfu in 1921, Philip left Greece with his family when he was 18 months old, when King Constantine was forced to abdicate the throne after a revolution. The family moved to Paris and then to England in 1928. Felipe also went to school in Germany.

He renounced his Greek title when he became a naturalized Briton in 1947.

Prince Philip