Earlier this week marked three years since the death of Queen Elizabeth II, with a former member of royal staff revealing exactly what happened in the final days of the longest reigning monarch in British history. The late Queen was 96 at the time of her death, with her passing taking place just 17 months after the death of her beloved husband, Prince Philip.
Speaking of the late monarch, former royal butler Paul Burrell discussed her finals days – as well as an emotional visit that he took to her grave in Windsor. The late Queen faced her own cancer diagnosis during the summer of 2021, just weeks after the passing of Philip.
Acccording to Mr Burrell, the late Queen was “very poorly” throughout her final days. He wrote: “The Queen had been very poorly during her last days and was mainly bedridden. She was 96 and had refused any more treatment.”
Writing for the Daily Mail, Mr Burrell added: “It wasn’t long after Prince Philip had died that she was diagnosed with cancer, in the summer of 2021. It was devastating for her so soon after losing him.”
He then added: “At the very end she had good and bad days. There were some days when she couldn’t get out of bed. But she always made an effort.
“Throughout her life, lunch was at 1pm, tea at 5pm and dinner at 8.15pm whenever possible. But she stopped going for meals in the dining room. Instead, she was having trays of food delivered to her room and she was eating very little.”
He further explained: “The monarch was fading away in front of the nation’s eyes. Her dresses weren’t fitting properly and she was looking paler and thinner. I think we all knew it was inevitable.
“It was poignant for the Queen to die at Balmoral, her favourite home. Most of the household had no idea what had happened that day. Estate workers were going about their business as normal.”
Paul Burrell famously worked for the late Queen from the age of 18 and later moved to the household of Charles and Diana at Highgrove House in Gloucestershire in 1987. He enjoyed a close friendship with Diana throughout her life and has spoken out about his memories of the late royal many times.
