Prince Philip 'lived with pancreatic cancer for nearly eight years' before his death
Royal biographer Hugo Vickers sheds new light on the final years of the late Queen and Prince Philip in his new book
Prince Philip was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer nearly eight years before he died, a new book about the Queen and the then-Duke of Edinburgh’s life has revealed.
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In Queen Elizabeth II, royal biographer Hugo Vickers sheds new light on the final years of the late Queen and Prince Philip, including details of Philip’s prolonged illness.
The Duke died at Windsor Castle in April 2021, just two months before his 100th birthday.
'Old age’ was listed on his death certificate.
On the final night of his life, Prince Philip is said to have slipped away from his nurses before pouring himself a beer and drinking it in the Oak Room, Vickers revealed.
He added: “The following morning, he got up, had a bath, said he did not feel well and quietly slipped away.”
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By the time of his death, Philip had been living with pancreatic cancer for nearly eight years — far longer than is typical after diagnosis.
The Duke was the longest-reigning consort in British history and was treated at both King Edward VII Hospital and St Bartholomew’s Hospital in the weeks before his death.
The Queen was not present when her husband of 73 years passed away, and is said to have been left frustrated by his characteristically unannounced departure.
According to Vickers, she described herself as "absolutely furious that, as so often in life, he left without saying goodbye" – referencing Philip’s lifelong habit of slipping away without warning, including from the Queen herself, who had frequently asked staff to alert her when he was leaving.
Philip was hospitalised in December 2011 for a blocked coronary artery, and in 2013 was treated at the private London Clinic in Marylebone.
Here, doctors detected a shadow on his pancreas, and "cut him right across his stomach" for exploratory surgery which resulted in his diagnosis of inoperable pancreatic cancer.
Four years later, the Duke stepped down from royal duties.
Vickers said that in 2019 rumours about Philip’s health were so "serious" that plans were drawn up to postpone the general election if he died.
"But then [he] perked up... Someone said he was being public-spirited and making an effort to survive so as not to upset the election," Vickers wrote.