Prince Philip was reportedly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer eight years before he died in April 2021 at the age of 99.
British biographer and historian Hugo Vickers shared the surprising revelation in his newly released book, “Queen Elizabeth II: A Personal History,” which Page Six reviewed.
“Doctors had detected a shadow on his pancreas, and had cut him right across his stomach,” Vickers writes. “The verdict was inoperable pancreatic cancer.”
Vickers adds that it was believed Philip “might not be seen in public again” following his 2013 diagnosis, but the duke “outwitted the pessimists.”
Philip reportedly had a short stay at Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk before returning to public duties in August 2013, according to Vickers.
Buckingham Palace didn’t immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
Philip ultimately passed away at Windsor Castle on April 9, 2021, two months before his 100th birthday. The royal family described his death as “very gentle,” and his cause of death was determined to be from “old age.”
Vickers, meanwhile, writes that the prince “did not want to reach his 100th birthday” because he “disliked the fuss attendant at such events.”
“On the last night of his life, he 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,” Vickers writes of Philips last hours alive.
“The following morning, he got up, had a bath, said he did not feel well, and quietly slipped away,” the writer continues. “By this point, he had lived with pancreatic cancer for nearly eight years — far longer than the usual survival time from diagnosis.”
But Queen Elizabeth was reportedly “not there” when Philip 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,’” Vickers writes in “Queen Elizabeth II: A Personal History.”
The author was also reportedly told that Elizabeth was “absolutely furious” that her husband of more than 70 years often “left without saying goodbye.”
As for the queen, she passed away roughly 17 months after Prince Philip on Sept. 8, 2022. She was 96.
Like her husband before her, Elizabeth’s cause of death was listed as “old age.”
“The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family,” King Charles, who ascended to the throne upon his mother’s death, said in a statement at the time.
“We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother,” the king, who was diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer in January 2024, continued. “I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.”
Britain will celebrate what would have been Queen Elizabeth’s 100th birthday on April 21.
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