Her Majesty the Queen passed away peacefully on 8 September 2022 at Scottish home, Balmoral. Despite her hopes, she was unable to take part in what would be her final royal duty

The Queen dedicated her whole life to service, and reigned for more than 70 years on the throne. But tragically she was unable to carry out her very last royal engagement before she passed away.

In his book, Charles III: New King, New Court. The Inside Story’, Robert Hardman examined the final days of the monarch’s life – and the reason she was forced to cancel her final duty. Her Majesty passed away at 3.10pm on 8 September 2022. Just two days before, she met the departing prime minister, Boris Johnson , and his replacement, Liz Truss at Balmoral before attending a drinks party that same evening.

“She was quite buzzy over pre-dinner drinks,” one person in attendance at the 6 September gathering, also attended by Princess Anne and Peter Philips, told the author. “But then she said she was going upstairs to have dinner alone.” The Queen then spent the following day in bed, but still wished to appear at that evening’s Privy Council meeting over video. As such, provisions were put in place so she could be audio-only if she stayed in her bedroom.

Sadly, moments before the meeting was due to start, the Queen made the difficult decision to cancel on the grounds of ‘medical advice’, as her health started to fail. That evening, on 7 September, Charles was advised by Anne and his private secretary to make his way to the Queen’s bedside as quickly as possible.