{"id":180823,"date":"2026-03-31T13:53:49","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T13:53:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/180823\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T13:53:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T13:53:49","slug":"prince-philips-final-hours-and-secret-illness-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/180823\/","title":{"rendered":"Prince Philip’s final hours and secret illness revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, died at Windsor Castle on April 9, 2021, and was given one of the most striking, personal, and moving funerals in royal history. It was a more intimate, family-centered farewell than that of\u00a0Elizabeth II, who, as head of state, understandably had a different kind of service. It also produced the now-iconic image of the Queen sitting alone.<\/p>\n

\"Queen\u00a9 Getty ImagesQueen Elizabeth II sits alone during Prince Philip\u2019s funeral at Windsor Castle.<\/p>\n

Prince Philip, born in 1921 on Corfu as Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark and later known as Philip Mountbatten, retired from public life in 2017 at age 96. He lived to nearly 100, continuing to enjoy carriage driving, a passion he took up after doctors told him his polo days were over. Now, a new book by biographer Hugo Vickers reveals an untold story: the Duke of Edinburgh battled cancer for eight years and sheds new light on how he spent his final night.<\/p>\n

\"Prince\u00a9 Getty ImagesPrince Philip in his later years, shortly before his retirement from public duties.<\/p>\n

In Queen Elizabeth II, a biography serialized exclusively in the Mail\u00a0on Sunday, it is revealed that in June 2013, during an eleven-day hospital stay, the Queen\u2019s husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He lived with the illness for eight years, and it remained a closely guarded secret until now. His death certificate lists “old age” as the cause of death.<\/p>\n

\"Queen\u00a9 Getty ImagesQueen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh on the day of their coronation, Buckingham Palace, 1953. <\/p>\n

\u201cDoctors had detected a shadow on his pancreas, and had cut him right across his stomach\u2026 The verdict was inoperable pancreatic cancer,\u201d Vickers writes.<\/p>\n

The diagnosis came four years before he stepped back from official duties, in a retirement that carried strong symbolic weight. In his role as Captain General, the Duke of Edinburgh reviewed the troops in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace, standing in the rain in a trench coat and bowler hat. It was a fitting sendoff and the beginning of his retirement.<\/p>\n

\"17\u00a9 Justin Goff Photos\/Getty Images17 April 2021…The funeral of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, was held at Windsor Castle, Windsor, UK.<\/p>\n

Vickers writes that rumors about Philip\u2019s health in 2019 were so serious that contingency plans were reportedly considered to delay the general election. He adds that some believed the Duke was determined to hold on so as not to disrupt the vote.<\/p>\n

The reference is to the snap election called by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson to break the Brexit deadlock, which had been stalled in Parliament for years and was approved by Queen Elizabeth II at the government\u2019s request.<\/p>\n

\"Vickers\u00a9 UK Press via Getty ImagesPrince Charles, Prince of Wales; Prince William, Duke of Cambridge; Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex; Timothy Laurence; Princess Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex; David, Earl of Snowdon & Peter Phillips during the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on April 17, 2021 in Windsor, England.
\nA Beer and a Farewell Without Goodbye: His Legend Grows<\/p>\n

His final night, like his sealed will, had long remained a mystery. Vickers, who has covered royal events since the 1970s, says the Duke of Edinburgh slipped past the nurses and made his way down a corridor at Windsor Castle with the help of a walker, intent on one thing: having a beer.<\/p>\n

\"Beer\u00a9 Getty ImagesBeer was Prince Philip\u2019s preferred drink, even at formal events.<\/p>\n

According to the biographer, Prince Philip drank his last beer in one of the most beautiful private sitting rooms at Windsor Castle, where he and Elizabeth II had relocated during the pandemic.<\/p>\n

That detail only adds to his legend. Beer, a deeply British staple, was part of his personal identity. Prince Philip never pretended to prefer wine or refined cocktails. Even at official events or state dinners, if given the choice, he would order a beer.<\/p>\n

Double Diamond, a traditional ale that was discontinued in the 1990s, was his favorite for many years. When a brewery later released a tribute version, he personally requested a sample. It has not yet been revealed which beer he chose for his final drink, but that detail may emerge in time.<\/p>\n

\"Prince\u00a9 Getty ImagesPrince Philip reviews troops at Buckingham Palace in his final official appearance.<\/p>\n

“The next morning, he got up, took a bath, said he wasn\u2019t feeling well, and quietly slipped away,” Vickers recounts.<\/p>\n

For Elizabeth II, the loss was especially difficult. After 73 years of marriage, she was not present at his final moment. “As so often happened in life, he left without saying goodbye,” Vickers writes, reinforcing the enduring image of Prince Philip as a strong-willed, independent, and deeply practical man.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, died at Windsor Castle on April 9, 2021, and was given one of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":180824,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[1432,9,24,63,122,124,123,4259],"class_list":{"0":"post-180823","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-queens","8":"tag-british-royals","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-nyc","12":"tag-queens","13":"tag-queens-headlines","14":"tag-queens-news","15":"tag-royals"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180823"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180823\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}