Queen Elizabeth reportedly knew in her final days she would never reach her 100th birthday

A new biography on King Charles says Queen Elizabeth knew in her final days she would never reach her 100th birthday, unlike her mother who died aged 101.

The monarch, who died aged 96 at her beloved Balmoral estate in Scotland on 8 September, and a new book also claims she was suffering from “multiple” medical conditions but “slipped away” and had a painless death.

Upcoming biography ‘Charles III: New King, New Court: The Inside Story’ by royal expert Robert Hardman adds the late Queen was intent on being surrounded by family and making more memories with her relatives before her death.

One friend told the writer about her final days: “She had come to realise that the medical prognosis meant she was not going to emulate her mother and reach 100, so she had been determined to make the most of that final year.

“She made sure she had all the family up over the summer so that the young ones in particular would always be left with happy memories of her.”

A memo written by the royal’s private secretary Sir Edward Young confirmed the Queen had “slipped away” at Balmoral, but a close friend of the family said the exact cause of her death will never be known because she had been suffering from multiple conditions in 2022.

Sir Edward said in his note about her passing, which is now preserved in the Royal Archives: “Very peaceful. In her sleep. Slipped away. Old age. She wouldn’t have been aware of anything. No pain.”

King Charles and Queen Camilla are thought to have spent an hour with the late Queen while she lay on her deathbed, while Princess Anne and confidante Angela Kelly alternated at her bedside.

- Written by Bang! Showbiz and republished here with edits and permission.