But the festivities were dampened by Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, being rushed to hospital with a reported bladder infection. Philip will turn 91 years old on June 10.
According to medical website MedPageToday.com, bladder infections are very widespread among older men, and although there was no immediate danger to Philip, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
“Our threshold for admitting somebody in their 90s is very low,” Elizabeth Kavaler, a urologist at New York City’s Lenox Hill Hospital, told the news source. “Any question, we admit them because they're fragile and can wind up septic very quickly.”
One reason older men are susceptible to bladder infections is because as men age, many of them have more difficulty emptying their bladders, and Prince Philip, who during his wife’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, stood outside in the cold and wet weather, and may not have had an opportunity to drink or use a restroom.
Prince Philip’s health scare is a lesson for everyone: with age, people need to ensure they are watching out for any health scares, even if they already live in assisted living communities with medical help nearby.