QUEEN ELIZABETH II Feared Her Death Would Create Unnecessary Disturbances, Says Daughter in Upcoming Documentary LONDON – Queen Elizabeth II was devoted to duty until the end, and feared her death at her Scottish holiday home would create unnecessary disruptions, according to an upcoming documentary.
Princess Anne, the Queen’s only surviving daughter, tells the BBC’s programme that her mother was worried that things would be “tough” if she passed away at Balmoral, where the Queen spent her summer holidays in the Scottish Highlands. Balmoral is about 500 miles (800 kilometres) north of London, and will be the focus of much of the post-mortem coverage.
According to her official death certificate, Elizabeth passed away on 8 September 2022 at Balmoral Castle aged 96.
Anne, who was at her mother’s side at the time of her death, told the filmmakers: “I believe there was a time when she thought it would be harder for her to die at Balmoral. The family convinced her that she should not be involved in the decision-making.”
At Balmoral, Elizabeth was known to have a particular fondness for it. It is a private home owned by the Queen. Anne believes that at the Queen’s Scottish home, “it was probably a more independent existence than anywhere else.”
The Queen continued to spend the summer in Scotland and, before her death, visited Balmoral, where she met with former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his successor Liz Truss.
The new Prime Minister is appointed by the Queen at a ceremony known as ‘kissing hands’, which is traditionally held at Buckingham Palace. In 2022, the new Prime Minister and the Prime Minister-designate travelled to Scotland for the first time since Elizabeth took office.
The Queen missed several events earlier in 2022 due to what the palace described as “episodic mobility issues.”
Anne’s remarks were featured in a 90-minute film titled “Charles ill: the coronation year,” narrated by Helena Bonham Carter, who played Princess Margaret, the queen’s sister, in a few seasons of “The Crown.” The film is set to air in Britain on Christmas Day and chronicles the build-up to King Charles ill and queen camilla’s coronation. A preview of the film was shown to The Washington Post on Friday.
Anne is a long-standing confidant of her brother and the only royal to be interviewed on the show. In the programme, Anne says she has known Camilla for “a long time, on and off” and that Camilla’s “understandance of her position and the impact it has on the King” has been “absolutely outstanding”.
It’s not a role she’d be at home in, but it’s one she excels at,” says Anne, “and she gives that change of pace and tone that’s just as modern as she is.
When asked about her brother’s ascension to the throne, she said, “To tell you the truth, I don’t think anyone can really prepare for that kind of thing. It’s not easy. And then it happens and you think, “Okay, I have to do this now.”
“Monarchy is a day-to-day job; it doesn’t end because you change the king or queen for any reason,” he says.
She also talks about her mother’s funeral in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. When the Crown of the Empire was taken from her casket, “I felt a bit of relief,” Anne says. “It was like it was all done, the responsibility was passed on to someone else.