Prince Philip spent eight years battling pancreatic cancer in secret prior to his death, according to a new book.
Prince Philip is said to have lived with pancreatic cancer for eight years
Queen Elizabeth‘s husband passed away in 2021 at the age of 99 – a year before his wife – and now it’s been suggested the late royal spent almost a decade living with cancer after being diagnosed with an inoperable form of the disease in June 2013.
Royal historian Hugo Vickers makes the claim in his new book Queen Elizabeth II – which has been serialised by the Daily Mail newspaper – in which he detailed the former Duke of Edinburgh’s final days in Windsor Castle. Vickers wrote: “On the last night of his life, he [Philip] gave his nurses the slip, shuffled along the corridor on his Zimmer frame, helped himself to a beer and drank it in the Oak Room.
“The following morning, he got up, had a bath, said he did not feel well and quietly slipped away. By this point, he had lived with pancreatic cancer for nearly eight years – far longer than the usual survival time from diagnosis.
“The Queen was not there when he died. There had often been times in earlier days when she had asked the staff to let her know when Philip was leaving, only to be told: ‘His Royal Highness left 20 minutes ago’ … [She was] absolutely furious that, as so often in life, he left without saying goodbye”.
The revelation comes after it revealed a planned national memorial to Queen Elizabeth will also pay tribute to her husband.
A team led by architect Lord Norman Foster has been selected to create a memorial in tribute to Britain’s longest-reigning monarch – who passed away at the age of 96 in 2022 – in St James’s Park in London.
The winning design features a translucent bridge inspired by the late Queen’s wedding tiara and includes a separate statue of the Queen and Prince Philip, gardens and a Prince Philip Gate – to go with the main monument of the late sovereign.
Lord Robert Janvrin, chair of the memorial committee and the late Queen’s former private secretary told the BBC: “I think the location is something which would have appealed to her. You can see the bridge from the room where she often sat for paintings.”
Lord Foster said Prince Philip’s inclusion highlighted the “inseparable quality” of the royal couple – who were married for 73 years until the Duke’s death.
He explained: “We showed them together and, in a way, there was this inseparable quality which we sought to convey.”
