Overview
- Royal biographer Hugo Vickers claims in a new book, serialized in the Mail on Sunday over the weekend, that Prince Philip was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer in June 2013.
- He writes that doctors spotted a shadow on Philip’s pancreas during an 11‑day hospital stay and that the Duke continued public engagements for about four years before retiring in 2017.
- Philip died at Windsor Castle in April 2021 with 'old age' recorded on his death certificate, and Buckingham Palace has not confirmed any cancer diagnosis.
- The book describes his final night, saying he slipped past nurses to drink a beer in the Oak Room, and notes the Queen was not with him when he died.
- Coverage highlights that surviving nearly eight years after an inoperable pancreatic cancer diagnosis is rare, a point underscored by Cancer Research UK data, and the disclosure is renewing scrutiny of how the palace shares health information as King Charles continues cancer treatment.