King Charles lost his beloved mother – and fulfilled his lifelong destiny – on 8 September 2022

Her Majesty the Queen, 96, peacefully passed away at 3:10pm at her beloved Balmoral. Her eldest son and heir rushed to be by her side and was able to spend time with the Queen before she slipped away. Charles was not there when his mother died, however – although his sister Princess Anne kept her vigil. 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 . Charles pulled over and was addressed for the first time as ‘Your Majesty’ – signalling he was now King.

Writing in his book Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, author Robert Hardman noted: “In the manner of his late mother, he had climbed into the car as both Prince of Wales and Duke of Rothesay (his title when in Scotland ).’ ‘Twenty minutes later, he would climb out of it as King Charles III – with the new Queen at his side.”

Only Charles, his wife Camilla, and Princess Anne were able to spend time with the Queen on her final day. By chance, both siblings were already in Scotland for official engagements. According to Hardman, Charles and Camilla boarded a helicopter at 9.30am on the morning of the 8th to make the 150-mile trip from Ayrshire, where they had been carrying out royal duties. As they took to the air, Charles read his briefing papers for the last time as a prince before making four important phone calls – to Prince William, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and Prince Harry, telling them to leave for Scotland.

Charles arrived at nearby Birkhall – his and Camilla’s homely retreat – before 10.30am and then borrowed a Land Rover from a staff member in order to drive to Balmoral, where they were able to spend an hour at the Queen’s bedside. Sadly the rest of the royal family were too late. Buckingham Palace announced at 12.50pm that Prince William , Prince Andrew , Prince Edward and Sophie had started to make their way to Scotland. 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.

Sir Edward Young, the Queen’s private secretary, described her passing as “very peaceful” and without pain. He wrote in a memo: “Very peaceful. In her sleep. Slipped away. Old age. She wouldn’t have been aware of anything. No pain.” It was confirmed in Her Majesty’s death certificate that she had died of “old age”.