The Queen was fighting secret illness before she died, Prince Philip’s friend claims in new book

The Queen is said to have been fighting a secret illness before she died, according to claims made by one of Prince Philip’s friends in a new book.

• The Queen is claimed to have been fighting a secret illness before she died.
• The late Monarch died aged 96 from "old age" but now one of Prince Philip's friends has alleged she was battling painful bone cancer.
• This royal news (opens in new tab) comes as Meghan Markle and Prince Harry pose for Thanksgiving photo and fans are all saying the same (opens in new tab).

The Queen was fighting a secret illness before she died, according to Prince Philip's friend Giles Brandreth who has made the claims in his new book.

The broadcaster and former MP was a close friend of the Queen's husband Prince Philip and he reveals her late Majesty is said to have had a form of bone marrow cancer, of which can cause bone pain.

The Queen died at Balmoral Castle on September 8, 2022, aged 96 (opens in new tab) , and her death certificate confirmed her cause of death (opens in new tab) as being of "old age".

But in his upcoming biography, Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait (opens in new tab), Mr Brandreth sheds some light on what he was told about the Queen's health.

He writes, "I had heard that the Queen had a form of myeloma — bone marrow cancer — which would explain her tiredness and weight loss and those ‘mobility issues’ we were often told about during the last year or so of her life.

"The most common symptom of myeloma is bone pain, especially in the pelvis and lower back, and multiple myeloma is a disease that often affects the elderly."

The book is being serialised in the Daily Mail, and Mr Brandreth added, "Currently, there is no known cure, but treatment — including medicines to help regulate the immune system and drugs that help prevent the weakening of the bones — can reduce the severity of its symptoms and extend the patient’s survival by months or two to three years."

Ever since Queen Elizabeth II spent a rare night in hospital (opens in new tab) back in October 2021, she had been seen using a walking stick to aid her mobility during official engagements.

The Queen suffered with mobility issues in the months prior to her death - the palace confirmed in May 2022 that her late Majesty was suffering from episodic mobility (opens in new tab) which forced her to pull out of some royal engagements.

She was seen using a golf buggy to attend Chelsea Flower Show and reports a month later claimed Angela Kelly had moved into a suite (opens in new tab) next to the Queen’s private rooms at Windsor Castle, ahead of the Queen's Jubilee weekend.

Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait by Giles Brandreth is published on December 8th 2022, RRP £18.59 in hardback or £10,99 Kindle Edition. Alternatively the book, like Prince Harry's Spare memoir is available for free (opens in new tab) with an Audiable trial.