Revelations: Prince Philip reportedly died of pancreatic cancer, a fact kept secret from the public.

While the official version cited old age as the cause of Prince Philip's death, a new book by historian Hugo Vickers offers a different interpretation of his final years. Queen Elizabeth II: A Personal HistoryHugo Vickers claims that Prince Philip lived for nearly eight years with inoperable pancreatic cancer.

This is confirmed by public documents concerning the death of Prince Philip.

The only official version publicly available remains the one announced by the royal family on April 9, 2021. On that day, Buckingham Palace indicated that Prince Philip had passed away peacefully at Windsor Castle. The British press subsequently reported that the death certificate listed old age as the official cause of death. Prince Philip died at the age of 99, less than two months shy of his 100th birthday.

Hugo Vickers mentions a diagnosis made in 2013

According to Hugo Vickers, it all began in 2013 when Prince Philip, then 91 years old, was examined in hospital after an abnormality was detected in his pancreas. Vickers further claims that the examination led to a diagnosis of inoperable pancreatic cancer.

The 2013 hospital stay is documented, but not an officially confirmed cancer.

Prince Philip was indeed admitted to the London Clinic in June 2013 for exploratory abdominal surgery following abdominal examinations. At the time, it was a planned procedure, and no public statement from Buckingham Palace mentioned cancer. Prince Philip subsequently resumed some of his engagements before officially retiring from public life in 2017.

A grim prognosis, followed by a gradual return to public life

In Hugo Vickers' account, Prince Philip's entourage reportedly thought for a time that he might not reappear in public after his convalescence. However, the book asserts that Prince Philip defied these predictions, gradually regaining a public presence before his official retirement.

The final hours of Prince Philip according to Hugo Vickers' biography

Hugo Vickers also describes Prince Philip's final hours in a very personal style. According to this account, Prince Philip slipped away from his nurses during his last night, walked down a corridor with his walker, and then drank a beer in the Oak Room. The following morning, again according to Vickers, Prince Philip got up, took a bath, indicated that he wasn't feeling well, before dying peacefully at Windsor Castle. The book adds that Queen Elizabeth II was not present at the time of his death and that she was reportedly upset that she hadn't been able to say goodbye.

A death that occurred before a centenary that Prince Philip would not have wished to celebrate

Hugo Vickers' book also suggests that Prince Philip did not wish to reach his 100th birthday because of the attention and ceremony such a milestone would inevitably have generated. Prince Philip died on April 9, 2021, in Windsor, at the age of 99. His death occurred during a period still marked by the pandemic, and his funeral was held under health restrictions.