The Queen, who devoted her entire life to her royal duties, sadly was unable to fulfil her last engagement before her passing.
In ‘Charles III: New King, New Court. The Inside Story‘, author Robert Hardman delves into the final moments of the Queen’s life, revealing why her last official act had to be cancelled.
Her Majesty passed away on September 8, 2022 at 3.10pm.
And two days before her death, she was still working and had the duty of meeting departing Prime Minister Boris Johnson and welcomed his successor Liz Truss at Balmoral.
After that, she joined a drinks party.
“She was quite buzzy over pre-dinner drinks,” recounted an attendee from the September 6 event which included Princess Anne and Peter Philips.
“But then she said she was going upstairs to have dinner alone.”
Despite spending the next day in bed, the Queen intended to participate in the Privy Council meeting that evening via video link, with plans made for her to contribute audio-only if required from her bedroom, reports the Mirror.
Regrettably, just before the meeting was set to commence, the Queen had to cancel due to ‘medical advice’ as her health began to deteriorate.
The following day, the Queen sadly passed away and her official death certificate later revealed that she had passed away at 3:10pm on 8 September.
Buckingham Palace announced at 12.50pm that Prince William, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and Sophie had begun their journey to Scotland.
Tragically, they didn’t make it in time, landing at 3:50pm, a heartbreaking 40 minutes after her passing. With William behind the wheel, they reached Balmoral at 5.06pm.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry departed from Luton airport on a private jet around 5.30pm. He was still airborne when the announcement of the Queen’s death was made at 6.30pm.
Following her death, a footman found a locked red box of paperwork by the late Queen’s bedside. Upon opening it, staff discovered two sealed letters: one addressed to her son and successor, now King Charles III, and the other to Sir Edward Young, her loyal 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.”
Get the latest celebrity gossip and telly news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily Showbiz newsletter here.