Queen Elizabeth’s ‘Peaceful’ Last Moments Revealed by Her Private Royal Secretary: ‘Slipped Away’
The last moments of Queen Elizabeth‘s life were recorded by her former private royal secretary, Sir Edward Young. In a new book, Charles III: New King, New Court, The Inside Story by Robert Hardman, Young shared intimate details of the late monarch’s last moments. He said the queen of the United Kingdom was “peaceful” before she “slipped away.”
Queen Elizabeth’s death was as well documented as her life
Sir Edward Young, the private secretary of the queen and her most senior staff member, documented the last hours of her life and was at Balmoral Castle in Scotland when she died. He shared what he witnessed in a biography titled Charles III: New King, New Court, The Inside Story by Robert Hardman.
Young claims that at the time of Elizabeth’s death, she was “very peaceful.” According to the Daily Mail, which published passages from the book, the monarch died “In her sleep. Slipped away. Old age. She wouldn’t have been aware of anything. No pain.”
In her final hours, she reportedly had visits from her family, including King Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, who spent an hour with her. The book noted that Princess Anne and the queen’s senior dresser and confidante, Angela Kelly, also said their private goodbyes to the monarch.
Reverend Kenneth MacKenzie also visited the queen. He is a minister at nearby Crathie Kirk, who spent time with the queen and read from the Bible.
King Charles was given a letter from Queen Elizabeth written just before her death
Edward Young noted that moments after Queen Elizabeth died, a footman brought a locked red box of paperwork found at the late queen’s deathbed. It contained two sealed letters that are now in the Royal Archives.
One letter was written to her son, King Charles III, and the other was to Young. The box 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 claims. “And she had done it.”
Was King Charles with Queen Elizabeth when she died?
When Queen Elizabeth died, King Charles was not with her. According to Robert Hardman, Charles left the monarch’s bedside believing she had days left to her life, not hours.
Charles reportedly called his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, to tell them to rush to Scotland to see their grandmother in the hours before her death. He called William first, telling the palace operator, “It’s me,” because he couldn’t yet reveal he was king.
The new monarch had to take a helicopter back to Balmoral to rush to his mother’s bedside. According to the book, King Charles could not tell Prince Harry personally of his grandmother’s impending death because he was in the air.
Charles became King immediately after his mother’s death. King Charles was crowned in May 2023, with his son, Prince William, and grandson, Prince George, playing integral roles in the ceremony. The immediate line of the crown’s descendants was documented in a photo shared by the royal family on Instagram.
Queen Elizabeth died on Sept. 8, 2022, at age 96.
