View gallery
Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip apparently didn’t see each other for weeks at a time after his 2017 retirement. The late monarch, who died earlier this year, and the late Duke of Edinburgh, who died in 2021, would still keep in contact “regularly” by phone during those times, a new book called Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, which was obtained by Daily Mail, claims.
Gyles Brandreth, the author of the book, also reportedly wrote that the Queen understood that her and Philip’s arrangement might have seemed odd to others, but she knew he didn’t want “to be fussed over” and wanted to “see out his days in his own way.” Gyles reportedly went on to explain that the couple had found a new appreciation for each other during the COVID pandemic lockdown in 2020, when they spent time in Scotland and at Windsor Castle. The Queen was also apparently determined to be by Philip’s side when he passed.
Philip’s death at the age of 99 brought the Queen “intense personal grief” but she felt it was her “Christian duty” to carry on, the book states. In addition to working on her royal duties, she would reportedly get through her days by watching television, including the British cop series, Line of Duty. She insisted on not slowing down until last fall, when she began to have low energy and doctors advised that she take it easy, the book claims.
“My husband would certainly not have approved,” Her Majesty would sometimes say, according to Gyles. The Queen continued on with her appearances, but missed a few during the last year she was alive. Her last public appearance was at the finale of her Platinum Jubilee in June 2022. She passed away at the age of 96 after being the Queen for 70 years.
At the time of her death, the Queen’s oldest son, Charles, who was the Prince of Cornwall, became King Charles when he acceded the throne at the age of 73. His oldest son, William, who was the Prince of Wales, became the new Prince of Cornwall.
