THE Duke of Edinburgh was last night beginning a belated Christmas with his family, after being discharged from hospital.

The 90-year-old Royal is thought to have arrived at Sandringham by car shortly before midday, after spending four nights in hospital following a procedure to clear a blocked artery.

He missed the Royals’ traditional Christmas Day trip to church, this year attended for the first time by the Duchess of Cambridge, and the Boxing Day shoot, which he normally leads.

It is thought to be the first time he has missed Christmas at Sandringham since the early 1990s.

A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said no decision had been made on when he will resume public engagements, or whether he will attend Church on New Year’s Day.

But he was today able to rejoin his family at the Queen’s private Norfolk estate where he is said to have been advised by doctors to rest.

He left Papworth Hospital, Cambridgeshire, at 9.25am. Travelling in the front seat of a dark Range Rover, he appeared in good spirits as he smiled and waved at waiting reporters.

Before his departure, he thanked hospital staff who cared for him over the festive period.