New Book Reveals Princess Anne’s Quiet Role in Reassuring Queen Elizabeth During Her Final Days
A new book sheds light on how Princess Anne supported the Queen behind the scenes as she chose Balmoral over tradition in her final days
Queen Elizabeth spent her final summer at Balmoral Castle, but behind the scenes, she was quietly worrying about whether she should head back to London. Royal expert Robert Hardman revealed in his new book, Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. The Inside Story, that it was Princess Anne who stepped in and reassured her. Anne convinced her that staying in Scotland was completely okay, especially as her health continued to decline.
Released on April 9, Hardman explained in his book that the Queen was uneasy about breaking tradition. She had always appointed prime ministers at Buckingham Palace, but this time, with her energy fading, that just was not realistic, and Anne helped her come to terms with that. He also wrote that everyone was on board when the Queen decided in mid-August that she would stay in Scotland. By that point, it was becoming pretty clear she likely would not be heading back to London again.
Hardman adds that Elizabeth even talked it through with her children, mainly because she did not want to put anyone out or cause extra trouble. He mentioned (via PEOPLE), “There was a moment when she felt that it would be more difficult if she died at Balmoral, the Princess Royal told this author. And I think we did try and persuade her that it shouldn’t be part of the decision-making process. So I hope she felt that that was right in the end,' "
September 6, 2022, marked a quiet but significant turning point in royal protocol. Instead of returning to London, the Queen carried out one of her most important constitutional duties from Balmoral Castle, a historic moment indeed. On that day, she accepted the resignation of Boris Johnson and formally invited Liz Truss to form a government. While the moment itself followed the usual process, the setting made history. For the first time in her 70-year reign, the Queen did not host the transition at Buckingham Palace, showing just how much her circumstances had shifted in those final days.
Hardman examined, “The Queen was determined to effect the transition with all the dignity and correctness she had observed with all her prime ministers, going back to Winston Churchill. It would require a great effort, though sadly no one would realize how much effort until later.”
The royal biographer wrote in his book that Liz Truss recalled that Elizabeth still made the effort to stand and greet her when they met. Truss noted that the Queen was clearly not in great physical shape, but they ended up talking for around 20 minutes. Hardman writes what Truss described: “She was alert. I would say she was relieved that the thing had actually happened and that we were now moving things forward.”
The last photos of Queen Elizabeth were taken in the Drawing Room at Balmoral Castle during her meeting with Truss, and they ended up becoming her final public images. Just two days later, on September 8, 2022, she passed away at Balmoral.
