A new biography by royal historian Hugo Vickers says Prince Philip lived with inoperable pancreatic cancer for nearly eight years before his death. He kept the condition private while continuing public duties well into his nineties. Vickers places the diagnosis in June 2013 after an eleven-day stay at the London Clinic in Marylebone and exploratory surgery prompted by a shadow found on his pancreas. He writes that the illness was never disclosed and that the severity of his health was not made public, with absences ascribed to age, fatigue, or routine treatments, according to The Independent.
The book, Queen Elizabeth II: A Personal History, describes how the late Duke of Edinburgh managed his exit from public view and from life itself. It says he continued to fulfill engagements after 2013 despite the aggressive nature of pancreatic cancer. Throughout this period, he reportedly avoided attention to his condition, consistent with the royal preference for privacy around personal health matters. The biography also suggests he did not wish to reach his 100th birthday to avoid the attendant celebrations and media attention.
On the night before his death at Windsor Castle
On the night before his death at Windsor Castle, the duke is said to have slipped out of his room and given his nurses the slip. He made his way with a walker to the Oak Room, poured himself a beer, and drank it alone. At dawn, he rose, took a bath, said he did not feel well, and then “quietly slipped away,” according to Daily Mail Online. The Queen was informed only after a doctor had arrived and confirmed his death. Vickers recounts that she was angry he had left without a final farewell.
Prince Philip died peacefully at Windsor Castle on April 9, 2021, at the age of 99, two months short of his 100th birthday. His death certificate listed old age as the cause, and official sources stated his passing was due to advanced age rather than a specific illness. The certificate was registered on April 13, 2021. Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8, 2022, at the age of 96. Separate reporting and accounts have suggested that she may have experienced a blood cancer consistent with some of her observed mobility challenges and fatigue, though the palace never confirmed a specific diagnosis.
Vickers’ chronology traces the beginning of the duke’s undisclosed cancer battle to 2013, when doctors detected a shadow on his pancreas and he underwent exploratory surgery at the London Clinic. Despite the grim prognosis pancreatic cancer typically carries, he lived nearly eight more years. By late 2019, rumors about his health had intensified enough to spark hypothetical discussions about the impact his death might have on national events. The book records suggestions that he may have been motivated by a sense of civic duty to hold on during that period to avoid jeopardizing the British general election campaign.
Vickers’ account is being released in excerpts.