How Prince Philip Broke Queen Elizabeth's Heart Just Before His Death

Prince Philip left Queen Elizabeth II "heartbroken" in his final moments, OK! can reveal.

Royal historian Hugo Vickers has claimed the late duke's long-standing habit of departing without saying farewell persisted until the end of his life, leaving his wife devastated after his passing.

Philip, who died at age 99 in April 2021 at Windsor Castle, had been married to Elizabeth for 74 years when he died, forming one of the most enduring partnerships in modern royal history.

In his book Queen Elizabeth II: A Personal History, Vickers details the duke's final days, while also revealing the royal had secretly been living with pancreatic cancer since 2013 – far longer than typical survival rates.

That claim has since been questioned by medical experts, who say it is almost impossible to live with the disease for that long. Vickers also describes how Philip spent his last night alive at Windsor, where he had largely withdrawn from public life following his retirement from public duties in 2017, while the Queen, then 95, continued her official role from the same residence.

A source familiar with Vickers' account said: "What stands out most is how Philip's independent streak never left him, even in those final hours, and how that ultimately had an emotional impact on the Queen. It echoes a pattern throughout their marriage, where he would often quietly remove himself from situations – something Elizabeth found very difficult – and in this case, it left a lasting sense of sadness as she never got a chance to say goodbye to him."

Vickers writes: "On the last night of (Philip's) life, he gave his nurses the slip, shuffled along the corridor on his Zimmer frame, helped himself to a beer and drank it in the Oak Room. The following morning, he got up, had a bath, said he did not feel well, and quietly slipped away. By this point, he had lived with pancreatic cancer for nearly eight years – far longer than the usual survival time from diagnosis."

According to Vickers, the Queen was not present at the moment of Philip's death, a detail he suggests was particularly painful given the duke's lifelong tendency to leave without notice. He writes she was "absolutely furious that, as so often in life, he left without saying goodbye."

The description reflects what aides experienced over the years, with Philip frequently departing engagements ahead of schedule without informing others.

On such occasions, staff are said to have told the Queen: "His Royal Highness left 20 minutes ago."

The couple's relationship began decades earlier, when Princess Elizabeth, then 13, met Philip, 18, a naval cadet at Dartmouth. Their connection deepened through correspondence during his service in the Royal Navy, leading to an engagement announced in 1947.

They married later that year in Westminster Abbey, in a ceremony that drew widespread attention in the aftermath of the second world war. Winston Churchill described the occasion as a "flash of colour on the hard road we travel."

Throughout their marriage, the pair were widely regarded as a couple who "complemented" one another, with Elizabeth once describing Philip as her "strength and stay" during a 1997 speech marking their golden wedding anniversary.

They had four children – King Charles III, Princess Anne, the now ex-Prince Andrew and Prince Edward – and balanced public duty with private family life over decades of profound change within the monarchy.