It has been more than a year since Queen Elizabeth’s death at the age of 96, and now her final moments are being revealed.
The last hours of the longest-reigning British monarch in history were recorded by Sir Edward Young, the private secretary of the Queen and her most senior staff member.
Young was at the Balmoral Castle in Scotland when Her Majesty died on September 8, 2022, at age 96. He shared what he witnessed in a new biography titled, “Charles III: New King, New Court. The Inside Story.”
At the time of her death, she was “very peaceful,” Young notes in the book, according to the Daily Mail. “In her sleep. Slipped away. Old age. She wouldn’t have been aware of anything. No pain.”
In her final hours, the Queen had a plethora of visitors in addition to Young.
King Charles III, 75 and Queen Camilla, 76, spent an hour with her privately before she died.
Her only daughter, Princess Anne, 73, and the Queen’s senior dresser and confidante, Angela Kelly, also took turns at her bedside. Reverend Kenneth MacKenzie, a minister at nearby Crathie Kirk., spent time with the Queen and read from the Bible.
The memoir was written by the Daily Mail’s highly-esteemed royal documentarian Robert Hardman. It also details how Queen Elizabeth, who would go on to reign an unprecedented 70 years and appoint 15 prime ministers, was still dedicated to duty until the very end.
Moments after Young wrote of Queen Elizabeth’s passing, which is now in the Royal Archives, a footman brought a locked red box of paperwork found at the late Queen’s deathbed.
The box contained two sealed letters, one to her son, King Charles III, and the other to Sir Edward himself. It also included her choice of candidates for the Order of Merit for “exceptionally meritorious service” across the Commonwealth.
“Even on her deathbed, there had been work to do,” Hardman writes in the biography. “And she had done it.”
Charles learned of his mother’s passing while driving back to Balmoral; he had gone out to gather mushrooms and decompress after seeing her. When his senior aide received a call about her death, Charles pulled over onto the side of the road to collect himself. He was then addressed for the first time as “Your Majesty.”
The Queen’s death happened so suddenly that King Charles had to allegedly travel to the Balmoral Castle by helicopter, and he read his “London Bridge” notes (the plan of action in the event of Elizabeth’s death) en route. Staff didn’t even have time to get his car ready to greet him.
According to Hardman’s biography, King Charles mistakenly believed he had days, not hours left with his mother. He called sons Prince William and Prince Harry to insist they travel up to Scotland as soon as possible to pay their final respects to their grandmother.
When Charles finally spoke to William to tell him the news via the palace switchboard, he was forced to tell the operator simply ‘”it’s me,” because he realized he couldn’t yet reveal that he was king.
According to the book, King Charles was unable to personally tell Prince Harry because he was in the air.
At the time of her death, King Charles III and released a heartfelt statement from Balmoral.
“The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty, The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family,” he said. “We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.”
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