The Royal Family reportedly rushed to Balmoral to be with the late Queen in her final moments. However, it’s said that not all were welcome.
King Charles is believed to have made the tough call to request Meghan Markle to stay behind, allowing Prince Harry to visit his grandmother alone, under the impression that Kate had also been asked to stay home.
However, in his biography Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, author Robert Hardman suggests that Kate wasn’t actually asked to stay away, but chose to do so.
According to Hardman, the Princess opted to remain in England to support her three children, George, Charlotte, and Louis, as they were due to start at their new school, Lambrook, on the same day the Queen passed away.
Kate’s decision inadvertently smoothed the way for King Charles. At the time, Charles was under the impression that his mother still had days, not hours, left and wanted the royals to focus on their final farewells – and avoid any petty squabbles.
According to the 2024 book, Charles simply wanted Meghan to stay away to prevent family conflict. Harry himself wrote about the moment his father told him Meghan would not be able to join him at Balmoral.
In his revealing memoir Spare, he alleged: “He said I was welcome at Balmoral, but he didn’t want… her. He started to lay out his reason, which was nonsensical, and disrespectful, and I wasn’t having it.”
Harry recounted how he responded assertively to his father’s remarks about Meghan, stating: “Don’t ever speak about my wife that way…He stammered, apologetic, saying he simply didn’t want a lot of people around. No other wives were coming, Kate wasn’t coming, he said, therefore Meg shouldn’t. Then that’s all you needed to say.”
The Queen passed away peacefully at 15:10 on 8 September. Among her family members, only Charles, Camilla and Princess Anne had the chance to see her before she passed.
Luckily, the siblings were already in Scotland, having attended events in the country earlier that week.
However, only Anne was present when their mother departed. Charles had momentarily left her bedside to clear his mind and had gone out to gather mushrooms.
He received the news of her passing while 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’ – indicating he was now King.
Buckingham Palace announced at 12.50pm that Prince William, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and Sophie had begun their journey to Scotland. Unfortunately, they didn’t make it in time.
They touched down at 3:50pm, a heartbreaking 40 minutes after her passing. With William behind the wheel, they made their way to Balmoral, arriving at 5.06pm.
In the meantime, Prince Harry departed from Luton airport on a private jet around 5.30pm. He was still airborne when the tragic news of the queen’s death was announced at 6.30pm.