The late Queen passed away peacefully in her sleep at the age of 96 on 8 September 2022 and while she remained in good spirits, there were signs her time was coming to an end

The Queen remained busy in the final days of her life but she knew her time was coming to an end, according to a royal expert.

In his book, Charles III: New King, New Court. The Inside Story’, Robert Hardman delved into the monarch’s last hours and revealed that on the evening of 6 September, the Queen was “energised”, having met the departing prime minister, Boris Johnson , and his replacement, Liz Truss.

“She was quite buzzy over pre-dinner drinks,” one person in the party, which included Princess Anne and her oldest grandchild, Peter Phillips, told the author. “But then she said she was going upstairs to have dinner alone.”

The Queen then spent the following day in bed and cancelled a video meeting with the privy council, with its members told it was on the grounds of “medical advice”. That evening, on 7 September, Charles was advised by Anne and his private secretary to make his way to the Queen’s bedside ASAP.

Fortuitously, both Charles and Anne were in Scotland at the time, having carried out events in the country earlier in the week including the Braemar Royal Highland Gathering, which they attended together over the weekend. It meant they got to spend time with their beloved mother before she peacefully passed away.

Charles was informed of the Queen’s death via telephone. He had briefly 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, Hardman wrote.

It would later transpire in the Queen’s official death certificate 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 started to make their way to Scotland at 12:50. Sadly, they were not in time.

They landed at 3:50pm, 40 minutes after her death. With William at the wheel, they drove to Balmoral, arriving at 5.06pm. 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.

Following her passing, a footman discovered 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.”