Newly revealed diary entry shows Queen Elizabeth's final moments
A previously unseen diary entry from Queen Elizabeth's private secretary has revealed the final moments of the late monarch's life.
Sir Edward Young dutifully recorded every moment of the Queen's life, including Her Majesty's last moments at Balmoral surrounded by her family.
“Very peaceful,” he wrote. “In her sleep. Slipped away. Old age. She wouldn’t have been aware of anything. No pain.”
The private diary entry was lodged in the Royal Archives and has not been made public until now.
Queen Elizabeth passed away at the age of 96 on September 8th 2022 at her beloved Balmoral Castle in Scotland, as she was surrounded by the royal family.
Others who were by the Queen’s bedside included the Queen’s senior dresser and trusted confidante, Angela Kelly, along with the Rev Kenneth MacKenzie, a minister, who read to her from the Bible.
The diary entry comes from a new book Charles III: New King, New Court. The Inside Story, written by royal expert Robert Hardman, who shared other details from the Queen's final moments.
The book notes that after King Charles sat by his mother's bedside for hours before her death, he went out to forage mushrooms to clear his head.
It was when he was returning to Balmoral Castle that he was informed his mother has died.
After her death, a footman brought a locked red box of paperwork found by her deathbed.
In it, were two sealed letters: one to her son and heir, Charles, and the other, addressed to Young.
The box also contained her final royal order: her choice of candidates for the prestigious Order of Merit for ‘exceptionally meritorious service’ across the Commonwealth.
Hardman writes in the new book, “Even on her deathbed, there had been work to do. And she had done it.”
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