Prince Philip's heartbreaking final night: A look back

Prince Philip, who passed away at the age of 99 on April 2021 at Windsor Castle, spent his final hours alone in a meaningful way.

The Duke of Edinburgh, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, reportedly did not want to live 100. 

Royal biographer Hugo Vickers shared his knowledge about the late Duke of Edinburgh's final moments, claiming: "The night before he died, he went along on his Zimmer frame to the Oak Room, which was that room above the entrance out of which the Queen's car came out for the funeral, and he was having a beer all by himself."

The author went on to reveal, "He gave his nurses the slip. He did not want to live to be 100, and he just slipped away. He got up, I think he had a bath and didn't feel well and lay down and that was it."

King Charles' father would likely have disliked being celebrated if he had made it to 100. He breathed his last just two months shy of the milestone.

"He absolutely did not want to be celebrated," he said.

Hugo also revealed that Philip passed away when the late Queen, who he had been married to for 73 years, wasn't by his side.

Hugo wrote in the book: "The Queen was not there when he died. There had often been times in earlier days when she had asked the staff to let her know when Philip was leaving, only to be told 'His Royal Highness left 20 minutes ago'. She took the line, I was told, that she was 'absolutely furious that, as so often in life, he left without saying goodbye'."

The book, which is being serialised in the Daily Mail, has also revealed other insights into the life of the late monarch, including how in the latter stages of her life, Elizabeth II had "much on her mind", from family issues with Prince Harry and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, as well as the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.

He did go to church for his 80th and 90th birthdays and for his 90th birthday, his family came from all over the world, from Canada and Germany.