Buckingham Palace has released a statement on the health of Prince Philip who remains in hospital after being admitted to King Edward VII Hospital in London last Tuesday, as a precautionary measure.

It has been revealed the Duke of Edinburgh is being treated for an infection and is “comfortable and responding to treatment”.

The Duke is not expected to leave hospital for several days, Buckingham Palace said.

Philip was initially due to spend a few days under medical care for “observation and rest”.

In a short statement, Buckingham Palace said: “The Duke of Edinburgh remains at King Edward VII’s Hospital where he is receiving medical attention for an infection.

“He is comfortable and responding to treatment but is not expected to leave hospital for several days.”

The Earl of Wessex said of his father the Duke of Edinburgh in an interview with Sky News: “He’s a lot better, thank you very much indeed and he’s looking forward to getting out, which is the most positive thing so we keep our fingers crossed.”

Asked whether Philip was frustrated to be in hospital, Edward laughed and replied: “Just a bit. I think that gets to all of us, and then, you can only watch the clock so many times and the walls are only so interesting.”

He added: “We’ve had some brilliant and lovely messages from all sorts of people and we really appreciate that and so does he, I’ve been passing them on. It’s fantastic, thank you.”

Members of the royal family have continued with their duties since the duke was taken to hospital after telling his doctor he felt unwell.

The morning after Philip was admitted, Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall – who have received their Covid jabs – visited the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham to learn about vaccination trials.

Last Thursday, the Queen carried out her first official in-person event of the year, making one of her most senior aides a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in a ceremony at Windsor Castle.

Philip has been spending the latest lockdown with the Queen at Windsor and in January they both received Covid vaccinations.