THE DAY THE WORLD CHANGED BEHIND THE SCENES OF BALMORAL

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED WHEN HER MAJESTY’S FAMILY GATHERED

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The Royal Family had been preparing for the Queen’s death for decades. But when the time finally came, after 96 magnificent years, it was a surprise to everyone, from the top levels of British government, to her own sons and daughter.

Just 48 hours after she was pictured shaking the hand of incoming Prime Minister Liz Truss at Balmoral Castle, the Queen’s doctors issued a carefully worded statement saying their monarch was being monitored amid “concerns”, and assuring her devoted subjects she was resting comfortably.

It was then that the watching world felt she may suddenly be near the end.

The statement bought her family time to race to Balmoral, an idyllic private home deep in the Scottish Highlands where the MountbattenWindsors have enjoyed the happiest of summer holidays throughout the Queen’s life.

The now King Charles wasted no time, using his helicopter to fly the short distance from Dumfries House to Balmoral, where he touched down around 10am and raced to his mother’s bedside.

It is understood Princess Anne was already there.

As media and well-wishers gathered outside Balmoral’s wrought-iron gates, they watched an SUV containing Prince William, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, race into the property, grief etched on all four faces.

It’s believed they discovered that their beloved mother and grandmother had passed soon after their chartered jet touched down at Aberdeen airport, a one-hour drive from the estate.