The Royal Family were reunited today after Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall arrived at Sandringham in time to meet Prince Philip following his four-night stay in hospital.
The Duke of Edinburgh, 98, was met with rapturous applause from visitors and well-wishers on the ground after arriving at the Norfolk estate in a helicopter.
Charles, 71, and his wife Camilla arrived at the Queen's estate in a separate helicopter shortly beforehand.
Dressed in a suit and tie, Prince Philip had left King Edward VII's hospital in central London at 8.49am following treatment for a pre-existing medical condition, before being driven to Buckingham Palace and then flown by helicopter Sandringham in Norfolk, arriving at 9.40am.
The Duke thanked medical staff and shook the hand of his nurse as he left the hospital where he had spent four nights, before walking to his car unaided.
Flight tracking records reveal he was picked up in London at around 9.05am by a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter which whisked him up to the 20,000-acre Royal estate, flying at speeds of up to 175mph at a height of 3,300ft.
Philip's return to Sandringham will have added significance for his family because while most people open their presents on Christmas Day, the royal family still keep to the German practice of unwrapping their gifts on Christmas Eve.
Traditionally the Queen, duke and other royals congregate in the White Drawing Room at Sandringham House around a 20ft tree, cut from the estate, for the exchange of presents displayed nearby on a white linen-covered trestle table.
Philip's flight directly into the grounds of Sandringham was in contrast to the flight which took him into hospital, cloaked in secrecy.
