The late Queen passed away peacefully in her sleep at the age of 96 on 8 September 2022 and while she remained in good spirits, there were signs her time was coming to an end

The Queen remained busy in the final days of her life but she knew her time was coming to an end, according to a royal expert.

In his book, Charles III: New King, New Court. The Inside Story’, Robert Hardman delved into the monarch’s last hours and revealed that on the evening of 6 September, the Queen was “energised”, having met the departing prime minister, Boris Johnson , and his replacement, Liz Truss.

“She was quite buzzy over pre-dinner drinks,” one person in the party, which included Princess Anne and her oldest grandchild, Peter Phillips, told the author. “But then she said she was going upstairs to have dinner alone.”

The Queen then spent the following day in bed and cancelled a video meeting with the privy council, with its members told it was on the grounds of “medical advice”. That evening, on 7 September, Charles was advised by Anne and his private secretary to make his way to the Queen’s bedside ASAP.