By REUTERS
LONDON - Britain's Prince Philip, the 90-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth, underwent heart surgery to ease a blocked artery on Friday after being rushed to hospital with chest pains as he prepared to celebrate Christmas with the royal family.Britain's longest-serving royal consort, known for his outspoken and sometimes brusque manner, needed an operation to fit a small tube known as a stent that keeps the blood vessel open.Philip had been preparing to spend Christmas with other members of the royal family, reportedly including Prince William and his wife Catherine, at the Sandringham royal estate in eastern England.He was taken to the Papworth Hospital, one of Britain's main heart and chest centres, about 60 miles (100 km) away in Cambridge, a palace spokeswoman said.
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