On Monday, a tragic scene unfolded on the streets of London as William and Kate's royal convoy struck a woman, who was seriously injured in the accident. The Telegraph reported that the woman, 83-year-old Irene Mayor, is in a London hospital, where she is listed in stable condition.
According to the outlet, Mayor was hit by a police officer's motorcycle that was accompanying William and Kate's car as they traveled from London to Windsor to attend a Garter Day ceremony (a long-standing royal tradition to install new knights into the Order of the Garter). According to the BBC, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is now investigating the accident after it was referred to them by the Metropolitan Police, something which is standard procedure.
"The investigation is in its very early stages and the officer involved is assisting our inquiries as a witness," an IOPC spokesperson told the BBC. "Our immediate thoughts are with the injured woman and her family and those affected by the incident."
The Telegraph reported that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge did not witness the accident as it unfolded. The outlet indicated that William and Kate have been in touch with Mayor's family via a police liaison, with the BBC adding that the couple sent flowers to her. The newspaper further noted that William reportedly wishes to visit Mayor in the hospital and plans to do so when she is feeling well enough to see visitors.
The BBC also reported that a Kensington Palace spokesperson indicated that William and Kate were "deeply concerned and saddened" upon hearing about the accident. The spokesperson added that "their Royal Highnesses have sent their very best wishes to Irene and her family and will stay in touch throughout every stage of her recovery."
Mayor's daughter, Fiona, told Express that her mother has "lots of injuries" and added, "they are just keeping her stable at the moment.”
As The Guardian reported, this isn't the first accident in which vehicles associated with (or driven by) the royal family have been involved. Last week, the Duke of Kent, who is Queen Elizabeth II's cousin, was involved in an auto collision in Brighton and might face a police investigation stemming from the accident, the paper noted.
Moreover, as the BBC reported, Prince Philip, the Queen's husband, collided with another car near the Queen's Sandringham estate in January, overturning his own car in the process. The crash left two women injured and resulted in the prince voluntarily giving up his driver's license, HuffPost noted.
Elle reported in February that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided that the prince would not be prosecuted for the accident. "It would not be in the public interest to prosecute," Chris Long, the chief crown prosecutor for CPS East of England, said at the time, per Elle. "We took into account all of the circumstances in this case, including the level of culpability, the age of the driver and the surrender of the driving license."
It remains to be seen how the IOPC's investigation into Monday's accident will unfold. In the meantime, it's quite clear that the royal family is very concerned about Mayor's well-being and wants to help ensure that she makes a full recovery.
