Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed that Queen Elizabeth II battled bone cancer prior to her 2022 death.
“I had known for more than a year that she had a form of bone cancer, and her doctors were worried that at any time she could enter a sharp decline,” Johnson, 60, claimed in his Unleashed memoir, published on Tuesday, October 2.
The British political figure also noted that the late queen “seemed pale and more stooped” when they met for the final time prior to her passing. “She had dark bruising on her hands and her wrists,” he wrote.
Despite her physical condition, Johnson noted in his book that one thing didn’t change.
“But her mind … was completely unimpaired … she still flashed that great white smile in its sudden mood-lifting beauty,” he wrote. (Buckingham Palace declined to comment.)
Elizabeth died at age 96 in Balmoral Castle, located in Scotland, on September 8, 2022. Her cause of death was listed as old age.
Johnson’s quotes came days after King Charles III remembered his mother — and her love for Scotland — during a speech to the country’s parliament on Saturday, September 28.
“My late mother especially treasured the time spent at Balmoral, and it was there, in the most beloved of places, where she chose to spend her final days,” Charles, 75, said of the royal family home, which has become “a uniquely special place” for holidays.
Further discussing his relationship with Elizabeth in the book, Johnson claimed that she “had known all summer that she was going.” However, she “was determined to hang on and do her last duty” — overseeing the “peaceful and orderly transition” from Johnson to Liz Truss.
Johnson’s claims about Elizabeth’s death come as the royal family continues to face a health crisis with two immediate members being diagnosed with cancer this year.
Related: King Charles III’s Sweetest Moments With Late Mother Queen Elizabeth II
Nearly five years before Queen Elizabeth II assumed the British throne, she and husband Prince Philip welcomed their first child, son King Charles III. The late queen, who died in 2022 after 70 years as England’s monarch, gave birth to Charles when she was still Princess Elizabeth. Her Majesty assumed the throne in February 1952 […]
Charles went public with his diagnosis in February but hasn’t shared details of his cancer publicly. Princess Kate Middleton, however, has kept royal watchers in the loop after announcing in March that she had also received a cancer diagnosis. At the time, she stepped back from public engagements to undergo chemotherapy but has since finished treatment.
“As the summer comes to an end, I cannot tell you what a relief it is to have finally completed my chemotherapy treatment,” Kate, 42, shared in a statement last month. “The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family. Life as you know it can change in an instant and we have had to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road unknown.”
Kate reflected on her “complex, scary and unpredictable” health battle.
“Although I have finished chemotherapy, my path to healing and full recovery is long and I must continue to take each day as it comes,” she concluded. “I am however looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months when I can. Despite all that has gone before I enter this new phase of recovery with a renewed sense of hope and appreciation of life.”
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