New documents from the Royal Archives are unveiling all kinds of insight — good and bad — about Queen Elizabeth II‘s final moments.
According to DailyMail.com on Friday, the late monarch’s private secretary (the most senior member of her staff), Sir Edward Young, kept a detailed log of her actions leading up to and immediately after her death on September 8, 2022. The papers went straight to the Royal Archives, where the contents stayed private… until now. Robert Hardman is set to release his new book, Charles III: New King, New Court. The Inside Story., next week, and in it, he’s unearthing all the details of these important papers!
In the first excerpts shared with DM, the memo explains that Her Majesty had a “peaceful” end to her life — despite the chaos unfolding in her family. Sir Edward wrote:
“Very peaceful. In her sleep. Slipped away. Old age. She wouldn’t have been aware of anything. No pain.”
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Shortly after the secretary wrote this, a footman reportedly delivered a locked red box of paperwork that was found at the Queen’s deathbed — and it contained two sealed letters, one to her son and heir, King Charles III, and one to Sir Edward. While the contents of the notes are unlikely to ever be shared with the public, it does suggest the 96-year-old was aware her time was coming to an end. And the letters aren’t the only proof of that.
The box also reportedly contained her final piece of paperwork and last royal order, which was to note her choice of candidates for the Order of Merit, an honor given for extraordinary service to the Commonwealth in the armed forces. Reflecting on this, Robert wrote:
“Even on her deathbed, there had been work to do. And she had done it.”
But, as we all know, the moments leading up to Elizabeth’s death were incredibly tense for the rest of her family.
For starters, the whole thing happened very fast, and nobody realized just how serious the Queen’s condition really was at first. The memo notes that Charles made a mad dash for Balmoral via helicopter when fears for his mother’s health arose, reading his “London Bridge” notes (AKA the plan of action following the monarch’s death) on the way. He left so quickly, his staff didn’t even have time to get his car ready to greet him.
The quick effort to get to his mother’s side paid off, though, and he and his wife Queen Camilla were able to spend a private hour with her. Princess Anne and Angela Kelly, the Queen’s senior dresser, also alternated by her side while Rev Kenneth MacKenzie also took turns. He would read passages of the Bible to her.
It was during this frenzy that Charles called both his sons, Harry (who was in the UK at the time) and Prince William, urging them to get to Scotland as fast as possible. But at this point, he thought she had days, not hours, to live, as the outlet notes.
Despite rushing to the castle, Charles was not present for the exact moment Elizabeth passed. He had gone to gather mushrooms and clear his head after spending some time with the matriarch. Driving back, his most senior aide got a call that she had died. The outlet reported:
“Charles pulled over and was addressed for the first time as ‘Your Majesty’ before calmly putting the car into gear and driving on.”
Whoa. What an overwhelming and super emotional moment that must have been.
Moving forward, Charles called William via the palace switchboard to inform him of the news — but he realized at the last minute that he couldn’t reveal he was king yet, so he told the operator simply, “it’s me.” The royal author also insists that Charles repeatedly tried to contact Harry, as well, but it was no use. Hitting back at Harry’s claims that no one told him about his grandmother’s passing and that he learned about the death via the news when his plane touched down, the royal expert penned, via another DailyMail.com report:
“Not exactly. A member of Palace staff says that the King had been urgently trying to make contact with his younger son. ‘There were repeated attempts to get through to him but no calls were going through because Harry was airborne,’ says the official.”
Okay, but speaking of Harry, there’s actually something even SHADIER that happened?!
We all know things were rough between Harry and William at that point — and with the whole family, honestly, as Spare was about to be released and everyone was on edge. A source told the author:
“Some of the family were probably ready to give him a piece of their mind.”
This was after his interview with Oprah Winfrey, too, which they reportedly viewed as a “reckless betrayal” of The Firm. Oof.
So, as mentioned, Charles called Harry to tell him to come to Elizabeth’s vacation home, but he was strictly instructed to come without Meghan Markle — a request he didn’t take kindly to… until he was informed that Princess Catherine was also asked not to attend. But this was A LIE?!
According to Hardman, William’s wife was NEVER asked not to come — she seemingly would’ve been welcomed with open arms. It was her decision to stay away. A royal aide claimed:
“It was by luck rather than judgement, but it made it a lot easier to tell Harry that he was coming alone.”
Whoa. That must sting for Harry and Meghan to hear now…
As for the Archewell founder’s claims that the Duke of Cambridge declined to text him back when he was trying to arrange last-minute travel arrangements, Robert added:
“Clearly, Prince William did not regard this as the appropriate moment for the intensely difficult conversation he needed to have with his brother.”
By the way, the book also points out that in normal circumstances, senior royals wouldn’t discuss these kinds of logistics themselves, it would be the job of their staff. Kensington Palace insists the Sussexes camp “had all the numbers” but didn’t reach out. Sooo, they’re blaming them for William being stubborn and rude AF by ignoring his younger brother at a heartbreaking moment for the family?! Oookay.
Back to the Meghan of it all. Hardman mused on the tough scenario:
“We can easily image the dread with which the [then] Prince of Wales approached that call. The Sussexes’ capacity for taking offence was well known and as everyone was conscious that any conversation could end up in the public domain — as, indeed, this one did three months later.”
In Spare, the Invictus Games founder called his father’s request “nonsensical and disrespectful,” but he did seem fine with the decision once realizing both wives weren’t welcome. Robert adds of Kate Middleton‘s decision not to come:
“She had certainly not been asked to stay away. […] Rather, it was the start of a new term at a new school for George, Charlotte and Louis, and she had decided that one parent should be with them on such an important day.”
Wow.
So, they really just didn’t want Meghan there? Brutal! You’d think at a time of great sadness like this, the family would’ve come together and put all their issues aside to focus on what really mattered, but NOPE! We’re glad it seems like Queen Elizabeth wasn’t aware of this mess. Reactions, Perezcious reader?! Let us know (below)!
[Image via WENN/Avalon/John Rainford/MEGA]
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