The Queen knew her time was running out and accepted it with good grace GYLES BRANDRETH reveals - Daily Mail

Saturday and Sunday, September 3 and 4. It is the play earlier the Queen’s death. The Right Reverend Dr Iain Greenshields — who is staying with her astatine Balmoral — finds her ‘in fantastic form’.

He has meal with her connected Saturday evening, gives the sermon astatine Braemar and Crathie Parish Church connected Sunday morning, past has luncheon with her connected Sunday afternoon. They speech astir the Queen’s childhood, her horses, religion affairs (she is ‘well up to speed’) and her sadness astatine what is happening successful Ukraine.

This is rather typical. The Queen is bully astatine surviving successful the contiguous but often draws connected her memories of the past, grateful for the lessons they person taught her.

‘She was truthful live and truthful engaging,’ recalled Dr Greenshields later.

Tuesday, September 6. Clive Cox, 1 of Her Majesty’s favourite racehorse trainers, gets a telephone from the Queen astatine 10am. She wants to chat to him astir the prospects for her two-year-old, Love Affairs, who is moving successful the 2 o’clock astatine Goodwood.

‘We talked astir the filly,’ helium said, ‘how the contention mightiness cookware out, however different equine of hers was doing successful my stable, and astir a mates of different things. She was crisp arsenic a tack.’

It is simply a engaged day. Not lone does the Queen contiguous her outgoing Communications Secretary with an honour, but she besides spends clip with her 14th and 15th premier ministers.

Boris Johnson said: ‘She could not person been kinder, much sympathetic oregon personally encouraging.’ Moreover, she was afloat of ‘characteristic humour and wisdom’.

Wednesday, September 7. Every paper is carrying pictures of the Queen astatine Balmoral yesterday. She appears old, yes — she is 96 — and frail. There is simply a acheronian bruise people connected the backmost of her close manus but she looks alert and precise overmuch alive.

She is smiling, looking implicit the tops of her spectacles astatine the camera. There is simply a definite, mischievous twinkle successful her eye.

For different royals, contiguous is concern arsenic usual. Prince Charles spends the time doing bully works successful Lanarkshire. Tonight, helium is hosting a meal astatine Dumfries House successful Ayrshire.

Edward and Sophie, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, are astatine events crossed Lancashire. Princess Anne is visiting the Isle of Skye and the Isle of Raasay.

By precocious afternoon, however, rumour is rife.

I person a telephone from my son-in-law (a erstwhile Coldstream Guards officer) to accidental that helium is astatine the Cavalry & Guards Club successful Piccadilly, wherever groups are gathering to sermon the item of Operation London Bridge — the codename for the action-plan that comes into being the infinitesimal the sovereign dies. What has happened? Has she had a fall? Has she had a stroke?

Thursday, September 8. Rumour had swirled each morning. At 12.32pm, Buckingham Palace issued a connection saying the Queen’s doctors were acrophobic for her wellness and, though she was ‘comfortable’, recommended she stay nether aesculapian supervision portion household members were informed. The Queen’s chopper near Windsor Castle astatine 6.48am to cod Prince Charles from Dumfries House wherever helium had spent the night.

He reached Balmoral astatine 10.27am. Camilla had spent the nighttime astatine Birkhall connected the Balmoral Estate and was driven by car to articulation him.

The Princess Royal was already determination — astatine her mother’s broadside to the end. Andrew and Edward, the Queen’s younger sons, and Sophie, Edward’s wife, and Prince William and Prince Harry were reported to beryllium connected their way.

There was disorder astir whether oregon not Harry’s wife, Meghan, would spell up to Scotland with him. When it became wide that Catherine was not going due to the fact that she would beryllium collecting her children from school, it emerged that Meghan was not going, either.

Andrew, Edward and Sophie, and Prince William arrived astatine Aberdeen airdrome successful an RAF enforcement pitchy astatine 3.50pm and William drove the 4 of them to Balmoral, 45 miles away. They arrived astatine 5.06pm. Queen Elizabeth II was already dead.

The ceremonial announcement of her decease came from Buckingham Palace astatine 6.30pm portion Prince Harry was inactive successful the air. His formation from Luton airdrome to Aberdeen was delayed. He was the past of the household to get astatine Balmoral, and the archetypal to leave.

Travelling to a BBC workplace successful London successful the aboriginal evening, I saw a treble rainbow supra Buckingham Palace. And I recovered retired from a person successful the racing satellite that the Queen’s horse, Love Affairs, comfortably won the 2 o’clock astatine Goodwood connected Tuesday: ‘Led tract centre, made all, ridden and stayed connected gamely last furlong, unchallenged.’

The information is that Her Majesty ever knew that her remaining clip was limited. She accepted this with each the grace you’d expect.

‘Her religion was everything to her. She told maine she had nary regrets,’ said Dr Greenshields, referring to the past play helium spent with her astatine Balmoral.

I had heard that the Queen had a signifier of myeloma — bony marrow crab — which would explicate her tiredness and value nonaccomplishment and those ‘mobility issues’ we were often told astir during the past twelvemonth oregon truthful of her life. The astir communal grounds of myeloma is bony pain, particularly successful the pelvis and little back, and aggregate myeloma is simply a illness that often affects the elderly.

Currently, determination is nary known cure, but attraction — including medicines to assistance modulate the immune strategy and drugs that assistance forestall the weakening of the bones — tin trim the severity of its symptoms and widen the patient’s endurance by months oregon 2 to 3 years.

Was the Queen fixed steroids to assistance get her done that important last time of duty?

Was that bruise connected the backmost of her manus that we saw successful the photographs of her with Liz Truss the people near by an intravenous cannula? Or was it simply the benignant of accidental bruise that comes with aged age?

All I bash cognize is that ‘cause of death’ connected her decease certificate volition beryllium fixed simply arsenic ‘old age’ — conscionable arsenic it was for the Duke of Edinburgh past year.

‘Old age’ is simply a rather commonly listed origin of decease erstwhile a diligent is implicit 80 and their doc has cared for them implicit clip and seen their gradual decline.

(When the Queen’s decease was registered connected September 16 my prediction proved accurate. The decease was certified by Dr Douglas James Allan Glass, a section GP and authoritative apothecary to the Queen who had been looking aft her successful Scotland for much than 30 years and who was with her erstwhile she died.

Dr Glass said: ‘We person been acrophobic astir the Queen’s wellness for respective months. It was expected and we were rather alert of what was going to happen.’)

When Prince Philip retired from nationalist beingness successful 2017, the Queen precise deliberately near him to it.

She carried connected with her royal duties astatine Buckingham Palace oregon astatine Windsor Castle portion helium lived retired his days astatine Wood Farm connected the Sandringham Estate.

They would talk regularly connected the phone, but weeks could spell by without them seeing 1 another. That shocked immoderate people, though not those who appreciated however good the Queen understood her hubby — understood his privation to beryllium near to his ain devices, ‘not to beryllium fussed over’, to beryllium allowed, aft much than 70 years of duty, to spot retired his days successful his ain way.

When the Covid-19 pandemic swept the satellite successful 2020, however, Prince Philip decided to walk ‘lockdown’ with the Queen, and a tiny retinue of staff, astatine Windsor Castle.

And erstwhile lockdown was lifted, Philip and Elizabeth, having spent much clip adjacent unneurotic than they had done successful years, decided it alternatively suited them. They near Windsor unneurotic and travelled up to Balmoral unneurotic for their accepted summertime break.

When that was over, they went backmost to Sandringham — but not to the large house. Instead, unneurotic they went to unrecorded astatine Wood Farm, Philip’s bolthole, the un-grand, unpretentious spot helium regarded arsenic his location connected the estate.

It’s wherever helium wanted to extremity his days, and the Queen wanted to beryllium with him to the end. But connected February 16, 2021, the Duke was admitted to infirmary successful London arsenic a precautionary measurement aft feeling unwell.

On March 3, helium underwent a palmy process for an existing bosom condition. He was discharged 13 days aboriginal and returned to Windsor Castle.

Three weeks later, his decease was announced astatine noon, April 9, with the merchandise of a connection saying helium had ‘died peacefully’ that greeting astatine Windsor Castle. His daughter-in-law, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, described his decease arsenic ‘so gentle. It was conscionable similar idiosyncratic took him by the manus and disconnected helium went’.

The Queen was reported to person been astatine her husband’s bedside erstwhile helium died connected the greeting of April 9, 2021. In fact, I don’t judge she was.

The Duke of Edinburgh had been successful a infirmary bed, acceptable up successful his dressing country astatine Windsor Castle. That morning, helium went to the bathroom, helped by a nurse.

When helium came back, helium said helium felt a small faint and wanted assistance getting backmost into bed. The caregiver called the Duke’s valet and the Queen’s page, Paul Whybrew, for assistance — and helium died earlier the Queen could beryllium called.

The Queen wasn’t yet up. And she wasn’t called until aft a doc had travel and pronounced the Duke dead.

He was being laid retired erstwhile the Prince of Wales arrived. Charles waited and had a cupful of tea, but went distant without seeing his father.

Prince Edward did spot him and then, gradually, the remainder of the household began to arrive. As they tried to comfortableness the Queen, the Queen was comforting them.

It helped that Elizabeth was accustomed to her ain company. Even erstwhile her hubby was alive, she had truthful often spent evenings connected her own.

Immediately aft Prince Philip’s funeral, she returned to her flat successful Windsor Castle successful silence. ‘I helped her disconnected with her overgarment and hat,’ her dresser, Angela Kelly, remembered, ‘and nary words were spoken. The Queen past walked to her sitting room, closed the doorway down her, and she was unsocial with her thoughts.’

When Prince Albert died, Queen Victoria retreated from the world. When Prince Philip died, Queen Elizabeth II went towards it.

She knew it was her Christian work to transportation connected arsenic champion arsenic she could. ‘There is nary magic look that volition alteration sorrow into happiness,’ she said, ‘but being engaged helps.’

In the contiguous aftermath of Prince Philip’s death, Vice Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt, the cheery Master of the Household, told me: ‘My main work with HM has been to support her spirits up — truthful I’ve been watching Line Of Duty with her . . . I’m “the Explainer”! It’s precise funny.’

The 95-year-old widow of Windsor laughed arsenic she struggled to recognize the convoluted plotting and sometimes incomprehensible dialog successful the fashionable ‘police procedural’ tv series.

She enjoyed watching tv and told me: ‘It keeps maine successful interaction — erstwhile I tin recognize what’s being said. There’s an atrocious batch of mumbling connected tv now. It’s not my hearing. They conscionable don’t look to talk arsenic intelligibly arsenic they utilized to do.’

Her grieving was private, but successful nationalist the Queen was determined to transportation connected arsenic normal. ‘Life goes on,’ she said. ‘It has to.’

That archetypal summertime aft Philip’s death, she chose to formal — arsenic she herself enactment it — ‘as cheerfully arsenic possible.’ With the assistance of Angela Kelly, she opted for yellowish and pinkish and pulverization blue, successful summery dresses with beauteous floral designs.

Her closeness to Kelly, the girl of a Liverpool dockworker, did not ever spell down well; the ladies-in-waiting recovered her a nuisance astatine times. The dresser was from a rather antithetic inheritance to theirs, and irritated immoderate astatine tribunal with her no-nonsense bluish manner, her casual entree to the Queen and her effortless familiarity with her.

They peculiarly resented the mode Kelly felt capable to measurement retired of enactment to set the Queen’s apparel oregon driblet a connection successful her receptor astatine what they considered to beryllium inappropriate moments. But they could bash thing astir it due to the fact that the Queen regarded Kelly arsenic 1 of her existent friends.

She was dazzling successful greenish erstwhile she opened the Scottish Parliament connected October 2, 2021. Some days later, each successful pinkish this time, she opened the Welsh Senedd successful Cardiff.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall were besides connected parade for some visits. ‘We weren’t required,’ the Duchess said to maine soon afterwards, laughing. ‘We were determination to assistance retired if necessary. It wasn’t necessary. The Queen did it all. She wanted to. She’s unstoppable.’

For six months pursuing Prince Philip’s death, the Queen did truthful much, truthful purposefully and with specified a determination not to springiness mode to immoderate signifier of self-pity (which, she said, ‘my hubby would surely not person approved of’), that she astir apt did excessively much.

In the autumn of 2021, she had a abrupt ‘energy low’. She felt exhausted. Her doctors ordered her to ‘rest a bit, not to propulsion herself truthful much, to instrumentality it easy.’

She had planned to be ‘Cop26’, the climate-change league successful Glasgow, successful idiosyncratic connected November 1, but, successful the event, had to grounds a video connection instead. She had besides hoped to be the Festival of Remembrance astatine the Royal Albert Hall and the Remembrance Sunday work astatine the Cenotaph — fixtures successful her calendar — but was persuaded not to. ‘I’ve got to beryllium sensible,’ she said.

Until then, her vigor had been small abbreviated of astonishing. Over her last decade, she’d not lone continued her enactment arsenic monarch but actively engaged with modern life.

She had her ain mobile phone, and obliging grandchildren acceptable to amusement her however it worked. She understood ‘texting’, though was alternatively defeated by ‘apps’. And she did not let her grandchildren to bring their ‘devices’ to the eating table, nether immoderate circumstances.

Believe it oregon not, I deliberation I erstwhile heard Her Majesty notation to the lavatory arsenic ‘the toilet’ — successful a concession to the vocabulary of the younger generation.

She had loved the aboriginal James Bond films — ‘before they got truthful loud’, she said.

And it was acknowledgment to Bond that she famously made a genuinely melodramatic entranceway erstwhile the 2012 Olympics were staged successful London, successful a filmed sketch with Daniel Craig.

Craig was seen moving up the red-carpeted stairs astatine Buckingham Palace, gathering 2 of the royal corgis, being greeted by the Queen’s leafage and ushered into the royal presence.

It was the Queen’s ain thought to support Bond waiting a infinitesimal arsenic she signed disconnected a letter, earlier turning astir to say: ‘Good evening, Mr Bond.’

Her enactment delivered, the Queen, accompanied by Bond and her leafage and her corgis, walked with intent to the waiting chopper that transported her past the statue of Winston Churchill successful Parliament Square (Churchill looked up and gave Her Majesty a question — she particularly liked that touch), on the people of the stream Thames, to the Olympic Park successful East London.

‘She was a natural,’ said Daniel Craig. ‘I was decidedly much tense than she was.’

Lord Janvrin, the Queen’s erstwhile backstage secretary, told maine helium was definite the Queen wouldn’t person done the stunt during the Queen Mother’s lifetime. ‘Why?’ I asked him.

‘Simply due to the fact that she would person felt her parent wouldn’t person approved — that it would person been a spot undignified.

‘The Queen became little inhibited successful respective ways aft her mother’s decease [in 2002], little constrained, much relaxed.’

There was a antithetic Bond transportation erstwhile it came to the Queen’s adjacent melodramatic outing. In 2022, for the Platinum Jubilee agelong play of celebrations marking her 70 years connected the throne, the Queen played herself successful a delightful sketch with Paddington Bear, the instauration of writer Michael Bond.

In the scene, Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw) is taking beverage with Her Majesty astatine Buckingham Palace and offers her 1 of his marmalade sandwiches — which it turns retired the Queen doesn’t request due to the fact that she already has her ain marmalade sandwich, hidden successful her handbag.

This time, overmuch much successful presumption of acting was asked of the Queen than had been astatine the clip of the Olympics — and she delivered successful afloat measure.

I happened to beryllium moving with Britain’s astir honoured movie and signifier histrion astatine the time, Dame Judi Dench, and she said to maine the time aft she had seen it: ‘Wasn’t she good? I mean, really, truly good.

‘Her timing was perfect. Every look, each enactment was conscionable right. It was wholly connected the wealth —none of it over-stated. Just wonderful.’ She added, laughing: ‘I’m rather worried. She’s going to beryllium offered each my enactment now.’

What did the Queen marque of it? ‘Great fun,’ she said. She marvelled that specified a ample unit had appeared astatine the Palace to movie specified a abbreviated sequence, and she was genuinely amazed that connection of it didn’t leak retired earlier the time of transmission.

‘Everyone kept the secret,’ she said, delighted. ‘That was lovely.’

• Extracted from Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait by Gyles Brandreth, to beryllium published by Michael Joseph connected December 8 astatine £25. © Gyles Brandreth 2022.

• To bid a transcript for £20 (offer valid to 10/12/22; UK P&P escaped connected orders implicit £20), sojourn www.mailshop.co.uk/books oregon telephone 020 3176 2937.