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Topics: Royal Family, The Queen, Books
Ella Scott
Topics: Royal Family, The Queen, Books
A royal expert has shared a devastating insight into the former Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip’s final conversation before his death—and it surprisingly wasn’t with Queen Elizabeth II.
Born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark on 10 June 1921, the late Royal was married to Queen Elizabeth for 73 years and remained consort of the British monarchy until his death on 9 April 2021, aged 99.
Following the father-of-four’s death, Buckingham Palace released an official statement, writing: “It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband.
"The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.”
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Years later, it has allegedly been revealed exactly what happened at Windsor Castle on that tragic day.
Royal author and This Morning star Gyles Brandreth has claimed in his new biography that former monarch Elizabeth didn’t make it to her husband’s bedside to say goodbye before he died.
Instead, it’s reported that the ex-military man uttered his last words to a medical practitioner.
Writing in his book, Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, 76-year-old Gyles penned: "The Queen was reported to have been at her husband's bedside when he died on the morning of April 9, 2021. In fact, I don't believe she was.
“The Duke of Edinburgh had been in a hospital bed, set up in his dressing room at Windsor Castle,” he continued.
“That morning, he went to the bathroom, helped by a nurse.”
According to the ex-MP—a reported close personal pal of both Philip and Elizabeth—he told his nurse that he ‘felt a little faint and wanted help getting back into bed’.
"The nurse called the Duke's valet and the Queen's page, Paul Whybrew, for help—and he died before the Queen could be called,” the author alleged.
It’s understood that HRH was sleeping in a separate room at the time of her spouse’s death and that she ‘wasn’t called’ until the Duke was pronounced dead.
A funeral was later held in Philip’s honour at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor on 17 April, 2021.
The event was attended by 30 close friends and relatives, including the Queen and his grandchildren William, now the Prince of Wales and Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex.
According to a Buckingham Palace spokesperson, the late Queen was forced to make ‘difficult decisions’ about who could be at the event due to COVID-19 precautions.
The spokesperson at the time did not reveal whether or not Philip was involved in choosing who would attend his funeral.
Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait is a personal biography of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch written by Gyles Brandreth and published by Penguin Books Ltd. on 31 August.