A royal expert has shared details of the final moments of Queen Elizabeth’s life, including the last two letters she sent.
Britain’s longest reigning monarch passed away peacefully at Balmoral on September 8, 2022 at the age of 96.
Her private secretary Sir Edward Young documented in a memo: “Very peaceful. In her sleep. Slipped away. Old age. She wouldn’t have been aware of anything. No pain.”
Royal expert Robert Hardman shared further details about the moments immediately after the Queen’s death in his book King, Charles III: New King, New Court. The Inside Story.
Sir Edward Young penned the note shortly after the late Queen’s death
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In the book, he said that shortly after Sir Edward wrote his note, a footman brought in a locked red box of paperwork found at the late royal’s deathbed, reports The Mirror.
He wrote: “When it was opened, staff discovered two sealed letters: one to her son and heir, now King Charles III, and the other to Sir Edward himself. While their contents are unlikely ever to be made public, the existence of the letters shows that Elizabeth, 96, quietly recognised her time on this earth was at an end.”
Alongside the letters was final piece of paperwork and last royal order, which was her choice of candidates for the Order of Merit for “exceptionally meritorious service” across the Commonwealth.
Hardman added: “Even on her deathbed, there had been work to do. And she had done it.”
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Former PM Liz Truss is greeted by Queen Elizabeth II’s Equerry Lieutenant Colonel Tom White and her Private Secretary Sir Edward Young
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Lord Young served as a joint principal private secretary to King Charles III before stepping down from the role in May 2023. A Palace spokesman said at the time that Young had brought “a vast reservoir of wisdom and experience to bear on helping to deliver the change of reign.”
Prince Harry mentioned Lord Young in his controversial memoir, Spare, where he gave him the pseudonym “The Bee.”
According to the Duke of Sussex, the name refers to his “oval-faced and fuzzy” appearance and tendency to “glide around with great equanimity and poise.”
He wrote: “[Lord Young] was so poised that people didn’t fear him. Big mistake. Sometimes their last mistake.”
Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Sussex
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After his retirement as private secretary to the sovereign, Lord Young was granted a peerage, made a permanent lord-in-waiting.
He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath and a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.
