The last doctor to treat Queen Elizabeth II came to an upsetting realisation as he spent time with the monarch, according to a royal author.
Robert Hardman examined the final days of the Queen’s life in his book, Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story. In it, he revealed that on the day of her death, local GP Dr Douglas Glass had sadly “visited again and determined Elizabeth was stable but coming towards the end of her life”.
One of the officials involved, meanwhile, told Mr Hardman that it was expected to be a ‘day or two, not an hour or two’.
At 12.32pm on the day of the Queen’s death, a statement was released by Buckingham Palace, which read: “The Queen’s doctors are concerned for Her Majesty’s health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision. The Queen remains comfortable and at Balmoral.”
When a short time later the Palace announced at 12.50pm that Prince William, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and Duchess Sophie were on their way to Scotland, the gravity of the situation became clear. At about 2pm, in a separate statement, the Sussexes, who were staying at Frogmore Cottage on a visit to the UK to attend an awards ceremony, announced that they, too, would be heading to Scotland.
It would later transpire, when her death certificate was made public weeks later, that the Queen died at 3.10pm. She was pronounced deceased – the cause of death later given as “old age” – by Dr Glass, her official apothecary in Scotland, who holds GP clinics for Balmoral staff.
