King Charles put his personal grief to one side to show kindness to the Queen’s staff immediately following her death.
Charles had briefly left his mother’s bedside to clear his head when she peacefully passed away. Author Robert Hardman detailed the moment he was told the sad news in his book, Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story. Hardman revealed that after spending time with his mother, Charles went to the grounds of nearby Birkhall to gather mushrooms while his wife 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. When the doctor 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 – and Charles immediately showed concern for those around him.
“The late Queen’s private secretary asked Charles what name he would reign under, and was surprised to find that the newly-bereaved King consoling him too,” Hardman wrote. Buckingham Palace later confirmed the news of the Queen’s death in a statement that read: “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”
And just hours after his mother’s death, the new King Charles issued a heartfelt tribute to his mother in a statement to the nation. He said: “The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family. We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother.
“I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world. During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which The Queen was so widely held.” It would later transpire in the Queen’s official death certificate that she had passed away at 3:10pm on 8 September. In a memo, her Private Secretary Sir Edward documented: “Very peaceful. In her sleep. Slipped away. Old age. She wouldn’t have been aware of anything. No pain.”
