THE TELEGRAPH: Duke of Edinburgh admitted to hospital for planned surgery

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Peter Kay, professor of orthopedics at Manchester University and a council member of the Royal College of Surgeons, said the most common reason older patients were admitted for planned hip surgery was for a hip replacement, usually due to osteoarthritis or a fracture.

He said between one and two percent of hip replacements were performed on people in their 90s and that the mortality rate had halved in the last few years to just 0.25 per cent.

"It is a relatively safe procedure," he told The Telegraph.

"You have to make sure the patient is fit and well but generally speaking, you will be in hospital around five days and spend six to eight weeks using crutches before walking independently and carrying on with normal life."