The Queen was by Prince Philip’s side during his final days
It has been reported that Prince Philip refused to return to hospital prior to his death, and insisted on looking after himself. The Duke of Edinburgh had previously spent a month in hospital for an infection before being discharged on March 16, but this time both he and the Queen are reported to have chosen that he stay at home at Windsor.
The Duke, who passed away peacefully on Friday, spent his final days with the Queen, who also dismissed the idea of him returning to hospital.
Speaking to the Telegraph, a source said that Prince Philip had “spent most of the four weeks he was in hospital trying to get home” and that he “just wanted to be back in his own bed.”
They said: “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.”
The duke had apparently been able to see his four children – Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward – in socially-distanced meeting before his death, as they had all received the Covid-19 vaccine. However he had been unable to see his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Sources told the Daily Mail that Prince Philip had been in “good form” in the days before his passing, eating with the Queen when he felt well enough, and often declinined the help offered to him by member of staff such as insisting that he pick up his glasses when he dropped them rather than a member of staff do it for him.
Details for the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral are expected to be released over the coming days.
