Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth shared one of the longest marriages in royal history, spending 74 years side by side before the Duke of Edinburgh died in April 2021.
But even after decades together, there was one particular habit of Philip’s that reportedly left his wife frustrated.
According to historian Hugo Vickers’ book Queen Elizabeth II: A Personal History, the Duke had a tendency to quietly disappear from events without telling anyone.
Vickers recalled how the monarch would sometimes ask members of her staff when her husband planned to leave an engagement, only to receive the rather unexpected response: “His Royal Highness left 20 minutes ago.”
In Duke’s final days at Windsor Castle, Vickers wrote that Philip once slipped away from his nurses, made his way along the corridor using his Zimmer frame and helped himself to a beer in the Oak Room.
The following morning, he got up and had a bath before telling those around him that he did not feel well. He died peacefully later that day.
Philip had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2013 and, according to Vickers, had lived with the illness for almost eight years, considerably longer than the usual survival period following diagnosis.
The historian also revealed that Queen Elizabeth was not at her husband’s bedside when he died, something he said left her “absolutely furious” because, in his account, Philip had once again left without saying goodbye.
2026-09-20 01:44:00
