King Charles’ heartbreaking belief in the late Queen’s final hours

The sudden death of Her Majesty the Queen came as a shock to many – just two days earlier she had been photographed at Balmoral greeting her new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, with a big smile. And, it seems, even her family were taken aback.

In his book ‘Charles III: New King, New Court. The Inside Story’, royal writer Robert Hardman explored the final days of the Queen’s life, and revealed the King’s heartbreaking belief at the time. According to the expert, on the morning of 8 September Charles called up both his sons, Princes William and Harry, to inform them of his mother’s failing health. Sadly, “at that point he believed the Queen still had days, not hours, to live”.

His belief proved incorrect. It would later transpire in the Queen’s official death certificate that she had passed away at 3:10pm on 8 September. Princess Anne, who was in Scotland at the time, had spent time at her bedside, as did Charles and Camilla. The rest of the family were not in time. Buckingham Palace announced at 12.50pm that Prince William, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and Sophie had started to make their way to Scotland at 12:50. They landed at 3:50, 40 minutes before her death.

With William at the wheel, they drove to Balmoral, but arrived at 5.06pm, nearly two hours after her passing. Prince Harry, meanwhile, left Luton airport onboard a private jet at about 5.30pm. He was still in the air when the announcement of the queen’s death was made at 6.30pm.

Charles was informed of his mother’s death via telephone. He had stepped away from her bedside to clear his head and had gone out to gather mushrooms. He received the news that she had died as he was driving back to Balmoral when his most senior aide took a call. Charles pulled over and was addressed for the first time as ‘Your Majesty’ – signalling he was now King – before calmly putting the car into gear and driving on, Hardman wrote.

The book also revealed how a footman found a locked red box of paperwork at the late Queen’s deathbed. When it was opened, staff discovered two sealed letters: one to her son and heir, now King Charles III, and the other to Sir Edward Young, her devoted private secretary. “While their contents are unlikely ever to be made public, the existence of the letters shows that Elizabeth, 96, quietly recognised her time on this earth was at an end.”