A royal correspondent has revealed intimate details about the moment King Charles III was given the harrowing news his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was dying.
The public was told about the Queen's worsening health just hours before she passed away on 8 September, at her home in Balmoral Castle, Scotland, surrounded by her loved ones.
And now, 8 days on, details have emerged of the phone call in which Charles was told his mother was dying and the 'silence' that ensued.
Advert
By now, we've all seen the images of King Charles walking behind his mother's coffin, the queues of people waiting to see Her Majesty Lying-in-State, and the provisions put in place in the run-up to her funeral on Monday, 19 September.
As people continue to pay their respects to Britain's longest reigning monarch and the royal family, Newsweek's chief Royal Correspondent Jack Royston revealed what happened when Charles heard about his mother's worsening health.
Speaking to The Royal Beat, Royston said: "Charles and Camilla were in Dumfries House.
"Camilla was actually about to record an interview with Jenna Bush Hager [George Bush's daughter], who said she heard footsteps running in the hallway."
The royal aides were also said to have entered the room and asked for everyone to be quiet as Charles took the call: "Can you please be quiet? There’s a call.
"Charles took a call, everything was silent, and they were asked to be silent. Then the next thing she knew, Charles and Camilla were in a helicopter."
This was around the same time that the public was updated about the Queen's declining health: "And that was at 12:30 so that was around exactly the same time that we were told.
"So they didn’t wait, they didn’t give Charles an hour or two hours before the public was told," Royston noted.
What followed hours later was an announcement of the Queen's death that shocked the world and triggered a mourning period for the nation.
The Queen is currently lying-in-state at Westminster Hall until her funeral on Monday.
The Queen's funeral is predicted to be the most watched broadcast of all time, with industry experts suggesting more than half of the world's population could tune in.
Following the news that the monarch had died aged 96, the date for her funeral was set to take place at Westminster Abbey on September 19 at 11:00 am.
UK viewers will be able to watch the event live on BBC One, BBC News, BBC iPlayer, and ITV's main and digital channels.
LADBible has reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment.
Topics: The Queen, News, UK News, Royal Family
Shola Lee