Two years ago today, the Royal Family was irrevocably changed with the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the ascension of her eldest son, Charles, to the throne.
Queen passed away at her beloved Balmoral residence, ending a remarkable 70-year reign. Charles, who had long been prepared for this role, ultimately fulfilled his destiny as King.
A new royal book reveals the precise moment Charles learned of his mother’s passing and his own accession to the throne.
On the morning of her death, as her health deteriorated, Charles and his wife, Camilla, rushed to Balmoral to be with the ailing Queen. After spending her final hours with her, Charles went to his nearby Birkhall residence to clear his mind with a walk and some mushroom foraging.
According to the book, as Queen Elizabeth began to fade, Princess Anne called Charles, urging him to return immediately to Balmoral. While driving back in his Land Rover, Charles received the news of his mother’s death and his new role as King.
In his book, Charles III The Inside Story: New King New Court, royal author Robert Hardman explained: “King Charles III succeeded to the throne at the wheel.
“To be more precise, he had just turned off the B976 onto the back drive of the Balmoral estate and was driving through a part of the world as dear and familiar to him as any, when he learned that he was now sovereign of the United Kingdom and fourteen other realms, covering a large part of the Earth’s surface.
“History will also record that, seven decades later, on the afternoon of 8 September 2022, her son and heir was on an unmarked Scottish country road, at the wheel of his car, when he was first addressed as “Your Majesty”.
He had been to visit the Queen at Balmoral Castle earlier in the day and had then spent a few hours at his nearby home, Birkhall, before returning to the castle.
“In the manner of his late mother, he had climbed into the car as both Prince of Wales and Duke of Rothesay (his title when in Scotland). Twenty minutes later, he would climb out of it as King Charles III – with the new Queen at his side.”
Earlier this week, ahead of the second anniversary of her death, it was revealed that a monument to honour the life and legacy of the late Queen will be finally unveiled in St James’s Park in London.
