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The nation was stunned on 8 September 2022 when it was announced at 6.30pm that Her Majesty the Queen had passed away. The Queen died peacefully at her beloved Balmoral Castle at the tender age of 96, sending shockwaves around the globe and leaving Royal staff in disbelief.
Although Balmoral is less grand than Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle, it held a special place for the Queen as a private retreat, and on the day of her passing, few people were privy to the Queen’s deteriorating health. However, there were subtle indicators that something was gravely amiss, particularly noticeable to staff at Windsor, which the Guardian detailed: “the departure of the Queen’s helicopter from Windsor Castle shortly before 7am to take the Prince of Wales from Dumfries House in Ayrshire, where he was staying that night, to his mother’s bedside, would have alerted them”.
Charles made it to Balmoral just before 10.30am, reuniting with his spouse the then-Duchess of Cornwall, who traveled over from nearby Birkhall. Princess Anne was also present, having been in Scotland for official duties.
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The public was first made aware of the precarious situation when, at 12.50pm, Buckingham Palace released a statement that William, Andrew, Edward, and Sophie were en route to Scotland. Then around 2pm, a separate announcement revealed that the Sussexes, lodging at Frogmore Cottage during their UK visit, planned to journey to Scotland toothough in the end, Harry travelled alone.
Tragically, the Royal family didn’t make it in time to say their goodbyes. The Queen’s death was announced at 6.30pm, but her death certificate later revealed she had passed away at 3.10pm due to “old age”, reports the Mirror.
William and other royals touched down at Aberdeen airport at 3.50pm, a mere 40 minutes after her passing. They reached Balmoral at 5.06pm, over an hour before the news was made public.
By the time Harry arrived at Aberdeen airport at 6.45pm, the world was already aware of the sad news. A spokesperson for Charles stated: “The public was only informed after every family member had been informed.”
However, Harry disputed this claim in his tell-all book Spare, stating he discovered the news of his grandmother’s death on the BBC website. He recalled receiving a call from his father, then Prince Charles, informing him that the Queen’s health was deteriorating.
However, as Harry prepared to travel to Balmoral, he claimed he was asked not to bring his wife Meghan along. “When the plane started to descend I saw that my phone lit up. It was a message from Meg: ‘Call me when you get this’,” he wrote.
“I looked at the BBC website. My grandmother had died. My father was King.”
