Sir Jackie Stewart recently suffered a stroke that left him unconscious on the floor during a visit to Jordan for a royal wedding, according to the Daily Mail. The three-time Formula 1 World Champion was visiting the country as the eldest son of King Abdullah II and Queen Rania, Crown Prince Hussain married Rajwa Al Saif. The 84-year-old collapsed in his hotel room before the wedding, before flying home onboard a royal aircraft after a stay in hospital. Despite undergoing physiotherapy, Stewart who retired from F1 in 1973 but remains a familiar face thanks to sponsorship and ambassadorial work, intends to be present at the British Grand Prix this weekend.
Stewart suffers stroke
"It was the night before the wedding," Stewart explained to the Daily Mail. "I got up in the night feeling strange, I just dropped and then I can't remember. "I was unconscious for quite a long time. I was taken to hospital in Jordan. My son Paul and his wife were there for the wedding, in a bedroom on a different floor. "To this day I don’t know how I got to Paul’s room, but I must have been somewhat alert to get hold of him. "They got me into an ambulance, but I have no recall of that either. His Majesty got the best doctors available for me. "I wanted to get home as fast as possible, and the Crown Prince of Bahrain very generously gave his aircraft to fly me back to Europe. By then I was pretty much OK. I wasn’t walking very well though." Throughout May, Stewart maintained a busy schedule, including being at the Miami and Monaco Grands Prix, visiting property in Geneva and attending the funeral of Annie Meldrum, wife of the the late Queen Elizabeth II's headkeeper at the Sandringham residence. He believes it may have had something to do with the stroke. "I was very ill by the time of Annie’s funeral," he said. "I spoke, but not as well as I should have done. I followed that with one night in Geneva and then went on to Jordan. "And all that was after being in Miami for a very busy Grand Prix not long before. It all added up. "I am now doing a lot of physiotherapy and I can walk almost completely perfectly. Everything’s going well — I am going to Silverstone for two days this weekend."
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