Queen Elizabeth II was left “absolutely furious” following Prince Philip’s sad passing, a bombshell new royal book has revealed. The former Duke of Edinburgh died at the age of 99 at Windsor Castle in 2021 and did not have his wife at his side at the time of his death.

In his upcoming book, Queen Elizabeth II, coming out to coincide with what would have been the late monarch’s 100th birthday in April, royal biographer Hugo Vickers has taken a deep dive into the late monarch’s life, drawing on recollections from rare insiders and decades of observations. While one of the biggest revelations so far has been that Prince Philip was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer in 2013, exact details about how the late Queen heard about her husband of 73 years’ passing have emerged.

On the final night of his life, the biographer says the 99-year-old royal “gave his nurses the slip, shuffled along the corridor on his Zimmer frame, helped himself to a beer and drank it in the Oak Room. The following morning, he got up, had a bath, said he did not feel well and quietly slipped away.”

The late Queen did not see him before he died, Vickers has written. “She took the line, I was told, that she was ‘absolutely furious that, as so often in life, he left without saying goodbye.'”

Vickers also claimed that Philip “did not want to reach his 100th birthday [on June 10], particularly disliking the fuss attendant at such events.”

After saying her final goodbye to her “strength and stay” at his funeral at St George’s Chapel, the late Queen returned to her private apartment at Windsor Castle with her dresser and trusted confidante, Angela Kelly.

Writing in her book, The Other Side of the Coin, Ms Kelly revealed exactly what happened in the moments after the service. She wrote: “I helped her off with her coat and hat, and no words were spoken. The Queen then walked to her sitting room, closed the door behind her, and was alone with her own thoughts.”

Kelly recalled that staff “stood to attention” as they watched Prince Philip’s coffin being placed in the specially designed Land Rover that the Duke of Edinburgh had a hand in creating.

“You could see the expression of sadness on everyone’s faces to see such a great and well-respected man making his last journey,” she says. “Their thoughts, I’m sure, were for The Queen, knowing she had lost a husband and a best friend. The nation shared the grief, and their hearts went out to Her Majesty.”