Prince Philip
Prince Philip raises his hat in his role as Captain General, Royal Marines, makes his final individual public engagement as he attends a parade to mark the finale of the 1664 Global Challenge, on the Buckingham Palace Forecourt on August 2, 2017 in London. Getty Images/Yui Mok

Prince Philip just turned 98 years old and has already retired from his royal duties. But while this is something to celebrate, Queen Elizabeth II's husband previously revealed one shocking confession about his age.

During an interview with The Daily Telegraph's Gyles Brandreth following the Queen Mother's centenary in 2000, Prince Philip opened up about what he thinks about growing old. At the time, the Queen's husband admitted that he doesn't like the idea of reaching the ripe old age of 100.

He reportedly told Brandreth almost two decades ago that he had "no desire whatsoever" to live to his 100th year. “I can’t imagine anything worse," Prince Philip quipped. “Bits of me are falling off already.”

But it seems Prince Philip may beat the odds as he is nearing his 100th birthday and still remains one of the most active royal family members despite having retired. Earlier this year, the Duke of Edinburgh was even still driving his Land Rover around near Queen Elizabeth's Sandringham estate.

In January, however, he got involved in a collision with a Kia carrying three passengers: the driver Ellie Townsend, 28, Emma Fairweather, 46, and a child. While there were no reported serious injuries or deaths, Fairweather broke her wrist in the collision.

While Prince Philip was not prosecuted after the car crash, he voluntarily gave up his driver's license, The Guardian reported.

Meanwhile, reports recently claimed that Prince Philip and the Queen have been living apart since the duke retired from royal duties. Prince Philip has reportedly been splitting his time between Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate and Windsor Castle, while the monarch continues taking on royal engagements.

“The Queen feels the Duke has earned a proper retirement," a royal insider told Daily Mail. “She knows him too well, if he was still at the centre of royal life he'd feel he had to be involved. Being at Wood Farm means that he's not too far away, but far enough to be able to relax.”

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