Royals kept Queen's cancer battle secret from Prince Harry: expert

Queen Elizabeth II reportedly suffered from bone cancer in her final years, which the royals kept secret from Prince Harry so he would not use the knowledge to his advantage.

Royal expert Kinsey Schofield suggested this "interesting theory" during a discussion about the book "Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait" by Gyles Brandreth on a recent episode of her ToDiForDaily podcast with TalkTV presenter Cristo Foufas.

She suggested that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not told of the monarch's alleged health struggle because they were not "trusted" with this information. She claimed that the royals gave Brandreth permission to include this in his book, which comes out in December so that Prince Harry will not put it in his upcoming memoir.

"Somebody messaged me today suggesting that perhaps — because I don't know about you, but I've heard these rumours about bone marrow cancer for a very long time now — Gyles got permission from the family to include this in his book to ensure that it wasn't breaking news if Harry included it in 'Spare,' which I think is very intelligent," Schofield said.

She added, "I think that that very much could be it because we've heard the whispers and perhaps the family wanted to control how that information was released."

Brandreth has ties with the British royals through his friendship with Prince Philip since the 1970s. In his book, he mentioned speculations about Queen Elizabeth II's secret battle with a form of myeloma, or bone marrow cancer. He said this would explain her tiredness, weight loss, and her mobility issues because myeloma causes bone pain, especially in the pelvis and lower back.

Her Majesty had to resort to doing desk work and a few in-person meetings at Windsor Castle and then eventually at Balmoral Castle during her final months because of problems with her mobility. She had to rely on a walking stick to help her stand.

It is unclear though if rumours that Queen Elizabeth II battled bone cancer are true as Buckingham Palace has yet to comment on these claims and on Brandreth's book. Her death certificate also showed she died of old age. As for Prince Harry, he will release his memoir titled "Spare" on Jan. 10, 2023.