Many have mused the secret behind Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip's long-lasting marriage, including that of her grandson Prince William, but it has now been suggested that they enjoyed a "no fuss", independent relationship.
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Following the late Duke of Edinburgh's decision to retire from his royal duties in 2017, he spent a lot of time at his bolthole Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate where he reportedly "wanted to end his days". The five-bedroom farmhouse is set within a picturesque corner of the stunning 600-acre estate and located 112 miles away from Buckingham Palace in London, which was the Queen's main base at the time.
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According to Gyles Brandreth's biography of the monarch, Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, serialised in the MailOnline, the monarch and her husband often spent weeks apart but stayed in close contact via phone calls.
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"That shocked some people, though not those who appreciated how well the Queen understood her husband — understood his wish to be left to his own devices, 'not to be fussed over', to be allowed, after more than 70 years of duty, to see out his days in his own way," he wrote.
However, this all changed following the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 when Philip and the Queen spent the lockdown at Windsor Castle together, which Gyles said "rather suited them."
The couple were married for 73 years before her "strength and stay" Prince Philip passed away in April 2021. In the months that followed his death, Elizabeth vowed to stay busy and refused to indulge in self-pity, which she said her "husband would certainly not have approved of."
"'There is no magic formula that will transform sorrow into happiness,' she said, 'but being busy helps,'" Gyles reported in his book.
The Queen died at Balmoral in September 2022, and although her cause of death was cited as old age, Gyles revealed he heard that Her Majesty was battling a form of bone marrow cancer called myeloma. He added that "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."
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