This Is Who Was by Queen Elizabeth’s Side During Her Final Days
Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, died on Sept. 8, 2022. Her two eldest children, King Charles III and Princess Anne, rushed to her bedside and were with her at the time of her death.
But who else did the queen spend the final days of her life with?
The people Queen Elizabeth’s spent her final days with
Queen Elizabeth died at Balmoral Castle in Scottland and was there with some of her most trusted aides in the days leading up to her death.
According to Telegraph royal correspondent Victoria Ward, the aides would help her “with jigsaw puzzles, deliver her beloved Racing Post, and simply keeping her company as she watched television.” Ward added that they “had become indispensable, keeping her spirits up and her mind sharp.”
Two staffers with her just before she died were her Serjeant-at-Arms Barry Mitford, and Paul Whybrew known as “Tall Paul.”
Who is Paul Whybrew?
Whybrew got his nickname because he’s 6 feet, 4 inches tall and towered over his 5-foot-3-inch boss.
He worked for the royal family matriarch for more than 40 years and was one of her favorite courtiers. In fact, former butler Grant Harrold previously told Insider that Whybrew and Angela Kelly, the queen’s dresser, were “the most powerful” people on staff.
“You’d assume the private secretary is her righthand man, but no — that’s a professional relationship. The private staff get to know her really well on a more personal level, spending time in her living quarters,” Harrold revealed.
Whybrew is the man who assisted the queen after intruder Michael Fagan broke into her Buckingham Palace bedroom in 1982. He also became recognized for being the aide featured walking with the monarch and actor Daniel Craig during the James Bond 007 skit during the 2012 Olympic Games.
After her death, Whybrew was also one of the 10 household staffers who took part in a solemn procession to Westminster Hall where the queen’s coffin was taken to lie in state.
He was involved in the queen’s funeral service
On Sept. 19, 2022, Whybrew was among those who walked in front of the Royal State Hearse that carried the queen’s casket when it arrived at Windsor Castle.
He was one of several staffers to be involved in that service.
Former press secretary and an ABC News royal contributor Ailsa Anderson spoke about Queen Elizabeth’s relationship with her longtime staff members. “They were very loyal to her. She had people by her side who felt very strongly about protecting her and really took on those roles with a great sense of responsibility,” she said via Good Morning America.
Anderson added: “You saw the piper playing at the end of the funeral service. He would also play again in St. George’s Chapel and successive people have held that role and spoken about how they got to really know the queen and how she learned about their personal lives and was often very sympathetic to any situation that they might have. That’s what we hear, that she was very interested in the lives of the people who worked for her and she became a friend to many of them as well.”
