New details of the Queen’s last hours revealed, including how King Charles found out his mother had died

A new book by royal author Robert Hardman details never-before-heard insight into the final moments of the late Queen, and how different members of the family found out about her death in September 2022.

Famous for her flamboyant hats over the years, one metaphorical hat Her Majesty never took off was her working cap when it came to her duties to the crown. And this remained true until the end, as it's suggested the late Queen Elizabeth II was still working while confined to her room in the final days of her life. 

Hardman’s book, Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, sheds light on the fact that the late monarch – who diligently served for a historic 70-year reign, was still tending to her duties amid her failing health.

Describing how the Queen was still working on the famous red boxes – something which the monarch tends to every morning with the exception of Christmas Day and Easter Sunday – the book refers to Her Majesty’s work in her final moments as the “last completed homework of the longest reign in history.”

Writing of the aftermath of the Queen’s death, on September 8, 2022, biographer Robert Hardman describes how, as private secretaries Sir Edward Young and Sir Clive Alderton settled down to work their way through official business, a “footman appeared with a red box”.

“It was the last one that had gone up to the Queen before her death.”

Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story. - £15.00, Amazon (released 18 January)

By acclaimed royal biographer and author of Queen of Our Times, Robert Hardman, this new book is a brilliant account of a tumultuous period in British history following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. 

Full of intriguing insider detail and the real stories behind the sadness, the dazzling pomp, the challenges and the triumphs as Charles III sets out to make his mark.

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As the Queen’s health continued to decline, Sir Edward was “not sure what to expect as he turned the lock”, the book reads, and around that now infamous day on September 8, 2022, “inside, he found that Elizabeth II had left a sealed letter to the Prince of Wales and a private letter to himself. Were they final instructions or final farewells? Or both?”

“We will probably never know what they said. However, it is clear enough that the Queen had known that the end was imminent and had planned accordingly.”

While the late Queen might have had an inkling her time was coming, despite her ill health, her sudden turn seems to have caught many of her family members off guard, including King Charles.

The King was informed of his mother’s death at the wheel of his car after temporarily leaving her side in Balmoral to go and pick mushrooms, the book reports.

King Charles had to pull over while a senior aide took the call. In what must have been a moment full of contrasting emotions for the grief-stricken king, the heart-breaking call was also the first time he was addressed as “Your Majesty.”

Following the news, it’s suggested the King did try to contact Prince Harry to tell him personally, but his youngest son was already in the air and he could not get through.

Harry has gone on record to state that he found out about his grandmother’s death from a breaking news alert on his phone.

It’s also written that a memo from her private secretary recorded the death as “very peaceful”, and that Her Majesty “wouldn’t have been aware of anything.”

A peaceful end to a life of service.