- Queen Elizabeth II died at age 96 on September 8.
- Hours before her death, Buckingham Palace recommended medical supervision for the Queen.
Queen Elizabeth II died at age 96 on September 8 — concluding her 70-year reign.
The Queen had faced health challenges during the later chunk of her life — having experienced brief hospitalization in October of last year, continuous episodic "mobility issues," and a case of the coronavirus in February.
But hours before her death last Thursday in the afternoon, Buckingham Palace released a statement: "Following further evaluation this morning, the Queen's doctors are concerned for Her Majesty's health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision."
The palace added that she was "comfortable."
BBC soon stopped their regular programming. By 1:48 p.m. local time, the channel just read, "HM Queen Elizabeth's health," The Washington Post reported.
Parliament members and journalists had also changed into black ties to reflect the "somber" news of her illness.
She remained under medical supervision at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, reportedly her favorite place to relax, when she died.
Her family members — including now-King Charles and Camilla, now-Queen Consort— traveled to the castle on Thursday. Newsweek's Chief Royal Correspondent Jack Royston told True Royalty TV's "The Royal Beat" that Charles learned of his mother's deteriorating health only shortly before the public, the Daily Mail reported on Friday.
Royston said American news personality, Jenna Bush Hager, revealed to him earlier this week that she was supposed to have a sitdown interview with Camilla at Dumfries House when they heard "footsteps" in the corridor.
"Charles took a call, everything was silent, and they were asked to be silent. Then the next thing she knew, Charles and Camilla were in a helicopter," Royston said, according to the Daily Mail.
"And that was at 12:30, so that was around exactly the same time that we were told. So they didn't wait, they didn't give Charles an hour or two hours," Royston added, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Princess Anne, the Queen's only daughter, said she was with her late mother during the last 24 hours of her life. In a tribute shared with Insider, Princess Anne said it was an "honour and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys."
Prince William, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, headed to the castle.
Prince Harry also traveled to Balmoral and arrived after Queen Elizabeth died.
Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, did not travel to Scotland.
Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle were both surrounded by well-wishers supporting the royal family and mourning the Queen before and after her death.
According to the Washington Post, the Queen's death was rumored and speculated online around 3 p.m. London time. The prime minister was notified about the Queen's death at 4:30 p.m. local time, but it wasn't officially announced until 6:41 p.m. local time by the Palace's Twitter page: "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon."
Since her death, the royal website has been taken down and replaced with a message that reads: "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon."
"The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and return to London tomorrow," it added.