Before her death, the Queen was ill with cancer, says the author of a new biography of Elizabeth II

Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait by author Giles Brandreth comes out in December in the UK. The author tells in it about the last months of the Queen's life and claims that she knew about the imminent death, because she had cancer. This is reported by the Daily Beast.

According to official figures, Elizabeth II died of old age at the age of 96. However, Brandreth, who was considered a close friend of Prince Philip, writes that, according to rumors, she had multiple myeloma, a malignant disease of the blood system related to leukemia. “The truth is that Her Majesty knew that the time that was left to her was limited. She received this news with all the grace that one could expect".

Multiple myeloma usually affects older people. Symptoms include bone pain, nausea, weakness or numbness in the legs. As the author of the book writes, the illness explains the fatigue and weight loss, as well as those "problems with mobility" that were mentioned to the public during the last year of the Queen's life. In her last year on the throne, she had to cancel several events due to ill health.

Despite the illness, Elizabeth II was engaged in her duties until the last day. As Brandreth writes, after she was widowed in April 2021, her job was her salvation. “When Prince Albert died, Queen Victoria withdrew from the world. When Prince Philip died, Queen Elizabeth II accepted it. “There is no magic formula by which sadness can turn into happiness, but being busy helps,” Brandreth quoted the Queen as saying.

According to The Times, Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the content of the new book.