Police examine whether UK prince drove into policeman

LONDON (Reuters) - British police said on Friday they were looking into a report that Prince Andrew had hit a police officer with his car as he drove into Buckingham Palace.

The incident allegedly happened last week as Andrew, second son of Queen Elizabeth, headed into a side entrance to the palace in central London.

The officer tried to clear tourists out of his way, the Sun newspaper reported, adding that the prince had failed to stop.

"A uniformed officer was involved in a collision with a vehicle while on duty on Constitution Hill and sustained minor injuries to his arm," a London police spokesman said.

"The circumstances of the collision are now being examined."

The officer did not need hospital treatment and no arrest was made, but the Sun said he had complained to his bosses about the prince's driving.

"The royals tend to drive in quickly because of security risks, but this has left the officer really shaken up," a police source told the tabloid newspaper.

A spokesman for Buckingham Palace confirmed police were looking into the matter.

"It was a minor incident," the spokesman said, declining to comment further.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Michael Roddy)