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Queen Elizabeth II‘s health declined rapidly in the last year of her life, but the royal family respected her medical privacy. There were whispers about what was going on behind closed doors, but the palace never confirmed the details. Now, former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is spilling the tea not only about her diagnosis but also her final days in his upcoming Oct. 22 memoir, Unleashed.
In an excerpt obtained by the Daily Mail, Johnson revealed that the late monarch was quite ill in her last year on the throne. “I had known for a year or more that she had a form of bone cancer, and her doctors were worried that at any time she could enter a sharp decline,” he wrote. The politician visited Queen Elizabeth on Sept. 6, 2022, at Balmoral in Scotland just two days before her death. He had resigned from his position two months earlier and had stayed on for the transition of power. His last day in office included a meeting with the queen.
Johnson described her as “pale and more stooped” and he noticed “dark bruising on her hands and wrists, probably from drips or injections.” Despite her health setbacks, Queen Elizabeth greeted him with her “great white smile,” seemingly “unimpaired by her illness.” He praised her knowledge of history and her commitment to duty even in the most painful of circumstances — she knew her royal legacy could never be questioned. Just two days later, she passed away, but her private secretary Edward Young relayed some quintessential information about the late queen.
“She had known all summer that she was going but was determined to hang on and do her last duty: to oversee the peaceful and orderly transition from one government to the next – and I expect, to add another departing PM to her record-breaking tally,” Johnson wrote about her loyalty to the crown to the very end. She became the U.K.’s longest-serving monarch, reigning 70 years on the throne — a feat that will likely never be repeated.
Her leadership will never be forgotten and while she admitted she didn’t hold the secret to her success, Queen Elizabeth II was always ready with a bit of advice for royal fans and global leaders. “I know of no single formula for success,” she said, per . “But over the years I have observed that some attributes of leadership are universal and are often about finding ways of encouraging people to combine their efforts, their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm and their inspiration to work together.” Queen Elizabeth II was a legend.
Before you go, click here to see the best photos of Queen Elizabeth II before she was queen.
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