In a poignant moment that marked the final days of Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Anne found herself making a deeply personal call as her mother’s health deteriorated.
The weight of this call was felt by many, as it signified a family grappling with the impending loss of their beloved matriarch.
Queen Elizabeth spent her last days at Balmoral, fortuitously joined by Princess Anne, who was already in Scotland for royal engagements. Alongside them was Anne’s son, Peter Phillips, who had cancelled plans for a shooting party to be there during this critical time.
The day before her passing, the Queen remained in bed yet expressed a desire to attend the evening's Privy Council meeting via video link. Arrangements were made for her to participate audio-only from her bedroom.
However, just moments before the meeting, she canceled, citing ‘medical advice,’ as reported at the time.
On the evening of September 7, Prince Charles received urgent advice from Anne and his private secretary to reach his mother’s side as soon as possible.
At that moment, he was over 150 miles away in Ayrshire fulfilling official duties. He faced a difficult decision: to either cancel his next day’s appointments and head to Balmoral or to continue with his schedule.
Royal author Robert Hardman recounts in his book Charles III: New King, New Court that Charles's private secretary, Sir Clive Alderton, poignantly urged him, “Think how you would feel if you never said goodbye.”
The following morning, Princess Anne called Charles again, emphasising the need for him to come immediately. By 9:30 a.m., Charles had taken a helicopter with Camilla and reached out to Prince William, Prince Harry, and his younger brothers, Andrew and Edward, urging them to come to Balmoral.
Charles arrived at nearby Birkhall—his Scottish retreat—before 10:30 a.m. and borrowed a Land Rover from a staff member so he and Camilla could make their way to Balmoral to spend precious moments with the Queen.
Local GP Dr. Douglas Glass had visited and confirmed that Elizabeth was stable but nearing the end of her life. One official informed Mr. Hardman that the expectation was she had “a day or two, not an hour or two.”
Tragically, Charles was not at his mother’s side when she passed away. He had briefly stepped away to gather his thoughts and went out to forage for mushrooms.
The news of her death reached him while he was driving back to Balmoral; his senior aide took a call, and for the first time, Charles was addressed as "Your Majesty," signaling his new role as King.
According to the Queen's official death certificate, she died at 3:10 p.m. on September 8.
Buckingham Palace announced at 12:50 p.m. that Prince William, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, and Sophie had begun their journey to Scotland. Unfortunately, they arrived at 3:50 p.m., just 40 minutes after her passing. With William driving, they reached Balmoral at 5:06 p.m.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry took off from Luton airport around 5:30 p.m., still airborne when the announcement of the Queen's death was made at 6:30 p.m.
