Prince Phillip is mourning a personal loss as he battles infection in hospital

Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh
(Image credit: Getty)

Prince Phillip is facing a double heartache as it's revealed he's mourning a personal loss while battling an infection in the hospital.

Prince Phillip is mourning the loss of a dear friend as he battles infection and remains in the hospital.

The Duke of Edinburgh is suffering a double heartache as he also mourns the death of his royal page, as he spends his 13th day in London's King Edward VII hospital.

Having spent almost two weeks in the hospital, after becoming unwell, Royal expert Robert Jobson has revealed Prince Phillip's royal page had died the same day the Duke had been admitted to hospital.

A royal page is someone who the Duke would have seen on a daily basis.

A photo posted by on

Speaking on True Royalty TV, Mr Jobson said, "The other day when Prince Philip went into hospital, his royal page who was with him for many years died on the day the Duke went in.

"That is sad news for the Duke as well, when members of your staff that have been with you on a daily basis, and he is a lot younger than the Duke, when you hear that, it is quite difficult.

"A lot of his friends have passed away, a lot of his staff have passed away."

Meanwhile, another royal commentator gave an insight into when Prince Phillip could be expected to return home, after it was revealed the Queen and Prince Phillip could part ways after his 100th birthday.

Dickie Arbiter noted that Prince Philip will be eagerly awaiting his chance to leave the hospital and go home.

Well wishes for Prince Phillip

(Image credit: Getty)

He said: "Prince Philip doesn't want to be in hospital and my guess is he will come out fairly soon.

"He doesn't like a fuss, he always has done and the sooner he gets home the better for him."

The royal experts also reflected on the significance of Prince Charles coming to visit his father for a second time.

Mr Jobson said: "The fact is he has been in hospital a long time now.

"The fact that his son, the Prince of Wales, came up from Highgrove specifically for that half an hour visit with the Duke says a lot. This is considering that Charles was going to be back in London on Monday.

A photo posted by on

"So I think it was quite unusual for that happen and I would think it is an important conversation between the Duke and the Prince of Wales."

And Mr Arbiter explained how he believed Prince Philip would have likely spoken about the future of the monarchy to his son.

He said: "I think it was at the request of the Duke that the Prince of Wales visited. To lay the ground. Look the man is 99, he is in with an infection. My guess is that he will come out, he will walk out and he will go back to Windsor.

A photo posted by on

"But eventually he is going to die and he was just saying to Charles, 'one day you are going to be the leading man of the family'."

Selina Maycock
Senior Entertainment Writer

Selina is currently a Senior Entertainment Writer for Goodto.com, formerly Senior Entertainment writer for Woman&Home, and My Imperfect Life and has more than 16 years of experience in newspapers, magazines and online. She currently writes a mix of Entertainment news - including celebrity births, weddings and reality show line-ups including Strictly, Dancing On Ice and The Great British Bake Off, reporting the the latest news about the Royal kids Prince George, Charlotte, Louis, Archie and Lilibet as well as Family news stories from baby names to store closures and product recall warnings. Before joining Future Publishing, Selina graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2006 with a degree in Journalism. She is fully NCTJ and NCE qualified and has 100wpm shorthand. When she's not interviewing celebrities you can find her exploring new countryside walking routes, catching up with friends over good food, or making memories.