King Charles had a heartbreaking response upon receiving the news that his beloved mother had died.

Charles had rushed to be with the Queen on the final day of her life. Along with his wife Camilla, he boarded a helicopter at 9.30am on the morning of the 8th to make the 150-mile trip to Balmoral from Ayrshire, where they had been carrying out royal duties. As they took to the air, Charles is believed to have 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, he 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 received the news that she had died as he was driving back to Balmoral .

In his book, Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, author Robert Hardman revealed that after spending time with his mother, Charles went to the grounds of Birkhall to gather mushrooms while Camilla headed out on a walk. Meanwhile, Princess Anne and the Queen’s personal assistant Angela Kelly took it in turns to sit with the Queen, while Reverend Kenneth MacKenzie read the bible to her.

At around 3pm, Dr Douglas Glass – who held the title Apothecary to Her Majesty’s Household – was asked to quickly get to the Queen’s side and Anne contacted Charles and told him to return. According to Hardman, when Dr Glass arrived at 3.25pm, the Queen appeared to have stopped breathing. And as Charles drove back to Balmoral, Dr Glass confirmed that the Queen had passed away.

He agreed a time of death of 3.10pm with Sir Edward Young, and the private secretary then went on to contact Charles. When the call reached the new monarch, he pulled over and stopped the car on the back drive of Balmoral. The author revealed: “After being called ‘Your Majesty’ for the first time, Charles simply said, ‘We’re nearly there’ and then continued up to the castle.” There, the new King and Queen were greeted by Princess Anne and Sir Edward. Charles then started to contact his immediate family members – beginning with Prince William who was now next in line to the throne – Parliament was also notified.

The new King called William through the switchboard but did not want to tell the operator the news before his son, so instead introduced himself by saying ‘it’s me’. The operator recognised his voice and put him through to William, and then to Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. However, Mr Hardman wrote that Harry was not contactable due to him being in the air, en route to Balmoral.