Prince Philip Last Days: 'Lucid But Joyous' Final Moments with Queen Elizabeth Revealed
On Friday, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh has died.
Early this week, it was reported that the 99-year-old was "on good form," even reading and writing letters.
Richard Kay detailed Prince Philip's last days of being alive in a new article on the Daily Mail.
How Prince Philip Spent His Last Days
One of the important things that were changed to accommodate Prince Philip was the domestic timetables such as mealtimes. Sometimes, he would join his wife, Queen Elizabeth II, when he felt strong enough to join her.
Despite his failing health, which was signaling his life is about to end, Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II were able to enjoy time together, similar to how they have always had.
Kay wrote that in the past few weeks, the dad-of-four would sleep for hours of the day, but being with his wife were moments of "great lucidity and joyful togetherness."
Prince Philip is known to be a no-fuss man. Most of the time, he would still act as if he's not 99 years old. One of his key characters is the unwillingness to show any sign of frailty.
One time, he dropped his reading glasses, and a footman immediately leaped forward to pick them up, but the Duke of Edinburgh raised his arm and said, "Never mind. I'll do it."
So he did and bent down the floor.
Walking was also difficult to and from his apartment, so he used a stick instead. He would allow himself to be pushed in a wheelchair in very rare times, but palace staff was wary of even mentioning it.
A royal aide recalled and told Kay, "When the wheelchair first appeared in the private rooms, he shouted, 'Get that bloody thing out of my sight!'"
He was well enough to still speak to British royal family members and even close friends on the telephone, as Prince Philip wasn't a fan of Zoom calls.
In the past couple of days, Prince Philip had been often confined to his room.
In the last weeks since he was released last month after 28 in the King Edward VII's and St. Bartholomew's hospitals, the Duke of Edinburgh has reportedly been calmer and quieter.
Food would be sent up on a tray to his room, but he often had little to no appetite.
He even canceled his 7:30 am tray of morning tea that his valet or page would bring to his room.
On the days he felt strong enough to get out of his room, Prince Philip would get up, dress up in a shirt and jumper with pressed pants and polished shoes.
There was a valet who would always prepare his bath, but as per Kay's insiders, until very recently, Queen Elizabeth II's husband was still dressing himself.
He would ask for a chair to be placed outside on warm days and would just sit under the sunshine with a blanket on his legs. Often, the 99-year-old Duke would just doze off.
One of his missions just before his death was not to end his last days in the hospital.
An insider revealed to Kay, "When he came back to Windsor, he said he was not going back to any hospital."
There was no dramatic decline in Prince Philip's health, but it was gradual.
The Day of Prince Philip's Death
On the day Prince Philip died, the Daily Mail reported that Queen Elizabeth II was by his bedside.
It is unknown what the cause of death is, but an insider reportedly told the outlet that, "He spent most of the four weeks he was in hospital trying to get home. They operated on his heart in a bid to give him a little longer, maybe with the 100th birthday in mind."
"But he didn't really care about that. He just wanted to be back in his own bed. There is no way he would have wanted to die in hospital."
