Prince Philip of Edinburgh lived for years with pancreatic cancer before his death

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The prince Philip of Edinburgh, husband of queen Elizabeth II, lived for about eight years with pancreatic cancer before his death in April 2021, according to a new biography that sheds light on his last years of life.

The information comes from the book Queen Elizabeth II. A Personal History, by the historian and biographer Hugo Vickers, who maintains that the diagnosis occurred in June 2013, when the duke was 91 years old. The illness, furthermore, would have been inoperable from the beginning, which led to foresee a limited evolution.

However, the outcome contradicted the initial prognoses. Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, prolonged his life for almost a decade after the diagnosis, well above the average survival rate for this type of cancer, one of the most aggressive oncological diseases.

A public life that defied the diagnosis

Far from retiring immediately, the duke continued performing institutional functions for several years. He maintained his official agenda until 2017, when he announced his definitive withdrawal from public life, four years before his death.

Vickers himself emphasizes that the prince “foiled the pessimists”, maintaining his presence at official events despite health limitations. His resilience became a prominent feature of his later years, marked by a combination of discretion and institutional duty.

The book also reconstructs in detail his last moments in Windsor Castle. According to the account, Philip lived his last days with relative autonomy and tranquility.

The night prior to his death, he declined medical assistance, moved by himself and had a beer in the living room. The next morning, after getting up and washing, he stated he felt unwell and died in silence, without a prolonged agony.

The author highlights that the duke did not wish to reach 100 years old, partly due to his rejection of the public exposure that these types of celebrations entail.

A farewell marked by the pandemic

The death of the duke occurred in the midst of the pandemic, which conditioned his farewell. The funeral, held with strong health restrictions, had barely 30 attendees.

Queen Elizabeth II, with whom he was married for more than seven decades, was not present at the time of his death and attended the funeral alone, an image that became a symbol of the pandemic's impact even on the British royal family.

According to the biographer, the duke's reserved character made an intimate farewell consistent with his way of understanding life. His figure, marked by discipline and a sense of duty, was thus closed with a discreet death, in accordance with his personality.