Inside the Queen’s last days at Balmoral: Late monarch told aides ‘it’s my job’ when they suggested Charles should appoint Liz Truss as PM – and family members each got to spend a private moment alone with her after she slipped away

The royals were each allowed a private moment alone with Queen Elizabeth following her death in September 2022, according to a royal book.

A passage in Endgame, by royal biographer Omid Scobie, details the late Her Majesty’s final days at Balmoral after spending the summer at the Aberdeenshire residence as she did every year.

In Scobie’s description of September 8, 2022, when the Queen died, her two eldest children, Charles and Anne, had spent the night at her side; while Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, Duchess Sophie and Prince William made the trip to Scotland that day; shortly before 4 p.m. and were each given a private moment with her after her death.

Elsewhere in the book, the author details how the Queen’s final summer at Balmoral passed largely peacefully; But despite failing health, she remained committed to her duty, particularly when it came to overseeing the change of British Prime Minister two days before her death.

Scobie writes that although several palace aides encouraged the monarch to allow Prince Charles (who was staying less than 10 miles away) to accept Boris Johnson’s formal resignation and proceed to “kiss hands” with the new premier Minister Liz Truss, the Queen insisted she would carry out this important task, telling her aides: “It’s my job.”

Scobie writes that in private the late monarch suffered from “crippling pains”, but insisted in public that she must fulfill her royal duty.

He cited people close to the palace who said the late queen’s last summer at Balmoral was filled with “walks, picnics and barbecues”, and that the monarch enjoyed sitting in the sun most days.

However, despite living a much slower pace of life due to her declining health, the monarch ensured every day that her red box full of government documents was up to date and carried out her duty to the best of her ability.

The descriptions delved into within the royal family are among many explosive claims made in Scobie’s book, published at midnight in the UK.

Elsewhere, the royal author, who has worked for ABC, Harpers Bazaar and Yahoo, claimed two members of the royal family made comments about Prince Archie’s skin color while Meghan was still pregnant with her son.

He claimed that letters exchanged between King Charles III and the Duchess of Sussex revealed the names of the two people who allegedly made the comments.

The royal author, whose new book Endgame is released at midnight tonight, said he could not reveal the identities of the two people for fear of legal reprisals in the UK.

But he said letters were exchanged between Charles and Meghan following the allegations made during the Sussexes’ explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021.

In an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America airing today, Mr. Scobie was asked if he knew who made the comments about Archie’s skin color.

He said: “I know who made the comments about Archie’s skin color. The names were mentioned in letters exchanged between Meghan and Charles sometime after the Oprah interview.

“We know from sources that Charles was horrified by what Meghan was feeling. Those conversations were, and he wanted, sort of as a representative of the family, to have that conversation with her.

“And that’s why I personally think they were able to move forward with some sort of line of communication afterward.” Although they may not agree on it.

Mr Scobie’s claims threaten to reignite the ‘racist royal’ row which erupted after Harry and Meghan’s interview.

Meghan had alleged in the special that an unnamed member of the royal family had talked about “how dark his (Archie’s) skin might be when he was born.”

But it is now claimed that a second member of the wider royal household – who may not be a member of the royal family themselves – has also made similar comments.

Both people are unnamed in Endgame, subtitled “Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival.”

The book makes a series of claims about the royal family and examines its future following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September last year.

And Mr Scobie added to the ABC: “I think before people assume I’m calling this the end of the royal family, I’m simply stating that we’ve reached some sort of culminating moment where the royal family as we know it, is at stake.’

He also claims that Prince William allegedly leaked stories about Harry.

Mr Scobie said: “He shared private information about his brother which made the front page of a newspaper shortly afterwards. These are things that have caused irreparable damage to the relationships between us.

Describing William as a “company man”, he said: “We have seen the emergence of a much tougher man, who seems to have embraced and embodied the royal institution.”

The ABC report also said Harry was ready to end the rift between William, that he had tried to reach out to his brother and that relations with his father Charles “could improve.”

Mr Scobie said: “There is an open and constant line of communication between the two, where they can talk to each other.” Where Harry, I would say, clearly understands that his father is probably not the most emotional or open person.

The ABC report said his interview with Mr Scobie also saw him claim he felt caught in family drama – and that Meghan had contacted him to check he was ok.

ABC claimed Mr Scobie also said he was not that close to Harry and Meghan and that he “never chose team Sussex”.

The interview will air tomorrow night on Nightline.

Mr. Scobie tweeted a link to the interview on tomorrow, the worldwide release. #ENDGAME day.’

Mr Scobie’s book is said to contain a series of claims involving the Sussexes – including that William was involved in “things that happened about his own brother”, that the older brother ignored Harry’s texts when the family was heading towards Balmoral. before the late Queen’s death last year.

Claims in the book include that there was a rift between the King and William, that Queen Camilla was said to have “quietly thanked” Piers Morgan for “standing up for society” and that the shy Princess of Wales was to be encouraged to fulfill its commitments. .