REVEALED: Brave Queen battled 'painful' cancer for more than a YEAR before her death - 'No self pity'

HER MAJESTY The Queen secretly suffered from a painful cancer which ultimately killed her, a new biography written by a close friend of Prince Philip claims.

Queen Elizabeth officially died on September 8 from "old age", according to her death certificate.

But an explosive new account of her life by Gyles Brandreth called Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait reveals that she had been stoically battling bone marrow cancer for more than a year.

In the biography, Mr Brandreth explains: "I had heard that the Queen had a form of myeloma - bone marrow cancer - which would explain her tiredness and weight loss and those ‘mobility issues’ we were often told about.

"The most common symptom of myeloma is bone pain, especially in the pelvis and lower back, and multiple myeloma is a disease that often affects the elderly.

"Currently, there is no known cure, but treatment - including medicines to help regulate the immune system and drugs that help prevent the weakening of the bones - can reduce the severity of its symptoms and extend the patient’s survival by months or two to three years."

The Queen defied her cancer to keep working until the very end of her life
Buckingham Palace

In comments typical of her late majesty, she told a lady-in-waiting that she was determined to keep busy, especially in the aftermath of Prince Philip's death.

And she refused to feel any self-pity, insisting: "My husband would certainly not have approved."

But her frail body began to let her down and, according to the new book which is being serialised in the Daily Mail, last autumn she pushed herself so hard that she started to deteriorate and doctors told her she needed to rest.

The Queen enjoyed watching television while she recuperated, particularly BBC drama Line of Duty - although she sometimes struggled to keep up with the plot.

Earlier this year it was reported that the Queen, then 95, had become so frail she was unable to walk her beloved corgis. Elizabeth II owned more than 30 of the dogs in her lifetime, but it is believed she was last able to take them for a walk in October 2021.

Her Majesty had to cancel several public appearances after contracting Covid in February and then experiencing repeated problems with her mobility.

First she missed the Commonwealth Day service - when she was represented by Charles, the then Prince of Wales. In May, she was forced to sit out the state opening of parliament for the first time in nearly 60 years. She was then absent from many of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations in the summer.

Finally, in the week that she died, she had to appoint the UK's new prime minister Liz Truss at Balmoral, not Buckingham Palace, after being advised not to travel. She also cancelled a virtual meeting of the Privy Council after being exhausted from completing a "full day" of duties just days before she passed away.

The Queen refused to take things easy even with cancer, claiming Philip would not have approved
PA

Biographer Brandreth also revealed that the Queen and Prince Philip didn’t see each other for weeks after he retired from public duties in 2017, as she was too busy working.

Philip, who the Queen described as her "strength and stay" died at Windsor Castle in April last year aged 99.

A year after his "peaceful" passing the Queen shared a moving poem written by Poet Laureate Simon Armitage alongside a video montage that featured special moments of their life together, including their wedding day and the arrival of their four children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

At the time it led many to recall the Queen's famous saying that "Grief is the price we pay for love" - her words when she addressed the bereaved families of 9/11 victims more than two decades ago.