Royal experts fear that Prince Philip won’t be around to witness Queen Elizabeth II’s milestone reign. 

After dealing with blocked coronary artery and bladder infection in early 2013, Duke of Edinburgh’s health has deteriorated ever since.

At the age of 91, Duke of Edinburgh went under exploratory abdominal surgery and was discharged from the London Clinic after a couple of weeks. Although this treatment did not mark the end of Prince Philip’s royal services, his declining health became fairly evident by May 2017.

It was announced that Duke of Edinburgh would step back from his royal responsibilities by the end of summer 2017. Shortly, he was again hospitalized due to an infection but was believed to be rapidly recovering.

In 2018, Prince Philip went under a hip replacement surgery in King Edward VII hospital. This operation took place after Prince Philip’s inability to attend traditional Maundy and Easter services. The operation was successful, and the Prince was discharged from the hospital after eight days.

Prince Philip retired from his royal duties some years ago, and now he spends most of his time in Norfolk on the Queen’s Sandringham estate.

Amid Prince Philip’s deteriorating health issues, Queen Elizabeth II has recently secured the fifth place among the longest ruling Monarchs of all time.

Voicing Duke’s age concerns on the ROYALS podcast, expert Angela Mollard said:

“She has now taken out fifth place, so she recently usurped the 19th-century emperor of Austria Franz Joseph.”

“He has the stint for being on the throne for 67 years and 356 days and she has now gone past that, but she’s still only number five.”

“She’s got to get to 72 years and 110 days to eclipse Louis XV of France who reigned from 1643 to 1715 which is a jolly long time.”

“She’s got to do another five years.”

“Let’s hope. Fingers crossed. She’s 94 this year, wouldn’t you just love her to get to be 100?”

“I would love to be the longest-reigning monarch of all time.”

“I think she deserves it. What’s she’s been through, what she still has to manage.”

She continued: “I think there should definitely be celebrations.”

Prince Philip rarely attends any royal ceremonies now, but, in recent years, he has made a special effort to attend royal weddings. However, due to his illness, experts fear that Prince Philip won’t make it to Princess Beatrice’s wedding, which is scheduled to take place on May 29, 2020.