Princess Anne Reveals Why Queen Elizabeth Said She Did Not Want to Die at Balmoral
There are plans in place for when prominent members of the royal family die years before it even happens. Everything is drawn out from secret code words to when the public announcement would be made to how many days of mourning there will be to every last detail of the funeral. So while that was all laid for Queen Elizabeth II, she had some concerns about where she would die.
On Sept. 8, 2022, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. But according to Princess Anne, that is the one place her mother previously talked about not being the best to die at.
Read on to find out why.
Balmoral was 1 of Queen Elizabeth’s favorite residences
The royal residences where the late queen stayed often were the London-based Buckingham Palace, the Windsor Castle estate, the Sandringham House in Norfolk, and Balmoral Castle. While many believed Windsor was her favorite home, King Charles said that she really loved spending time at Balmoral over the years. And it always held a special place in her heart because it’s where Prince Philip proposed to her.
During a speech in Edinburgh to mark the 25th anniversary of the Scottish Parliament, Charles explained that his mom also loved all the “beauty” of Scotland.
“Because of its natural beauty, of course, but also because of its strength of character, based as it is on the extraordinary diversity of its peoples, whose range of ideas, skills, energy, passions, and frequently deeply held beliefs, never cease to inspire,” Charles said per Express.
The queen explained why she was concerned about dying there
Although Queen Elizabeth loved Balmoral, she did voice some concerns about how things might be difficult if she died there.
Princess Anne revealed in a BBC documentary that the queen had wanted to avoid causing issues for others with having travel to be with her at the end of her life.
Speaking on The Royals with Roya and Kate podcast, assistant editor for The Times Kate Mansey shared: “Princess Anne said that the queen had concerns about dying in Scotland, that it might be more trouble for everybody if she died in Scotland. But of course there are plans in place, there was Operation Unicorn and Operation Overstudy to bring the queen’s body back should she die in Scotland. Princess Anne at the time said ‘Just do what you want to do — it’s fine.'”
Charles and Camilla spent an hour with the late queen privately before her passing, while Princess Anne, the queen’s senior dresser, and a minister from a nearby church all sat bedside the monarch in her final moments.
“So I hope she felt that that was right in the end,” Princess Anne said. “Because I think we did.”
