The latest rumour, amid coronavirus outbreak, claims that 98-year-old Prince Philip died after contracting the deadly COVID-19. But Buckingham Palace did not lose any time in setting the record straight, informing royal followers that the Duke of Edinburgh is alive and doing well.

According to ET Canada, the rumour about Prince Philip's alleged death due to COVID-19, a respiratory illness caused due to novel coronavirus, started swirling around on the internet this week. The news first appeared in Express UK that suggested that Queen Elizabeth II's husband's disappearance from public life and rising scare of global coronavirus may have led to the rumours.

Nevertheless, Buckingham Palace has denied the news and confirmed all is well with the retired prince, who renounced royal duties in 2017. Since then he has been living in Wood Farm located in the Sandringham Estate.

As per the reports, Philip started trending on Twitter in the UK on Wednesday and attracted more attention. Meanwhile, sources close to the royal family confirmed to The Telegraph that the rumours were baseless.

"RE rumour the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, is dead - it's nonsense. Source close to Buckingham Palace tells me he's absolutely fine. I don't know what would posses someone to start a lie like that, but stop. It's weird and incites panic. We don't need that right now," Telegraph Editor Gareth Davies wrote on Twitter.

More sources confirmed the news about the duke's good health to ET Canada.

prince philip
Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in his role as Captain General, Royal Marines, attends a Parade to mark the finale of the 1664 Global Challenge on the Buckingham Palace Forecourt in central London on August 2, 2017 Getty

In addition, concerns about the queen's health have also grown as she resides in Buckingham Palace, where she meets several audiences each day. As a precautionary measure, to prevent the effects of coronavirus, the queen is being shifted to her ancestral home Windsor Castle. At her Berkshire residence, she will be staying with reduced household staff. Also, in keeping with the advisory from the UK government, the queen and other royals have suspended their upcoming royal engagements that include garden parties, investiture ceremony, Chelsea Flower Show, and more.

Prince Philip Queen Elizabeth II