Princess Anne Says Queen Elizabeth Worried Dying at Balmoral Would Make Things ‘Difficult’

The royal family convinced the late Queen Elizabeth to stay at Balmoral Castle when she became seriously ill.

The Queen died in her beloved Scottish home on September 8, 2022 – with her daughter Princess Anne at her bedside.

In the new documentary, Anne recounts how the queen worried that it would be more complicated for others if she died there. In the upcoming special Charles III: Year of Coronationwhich airs on the BBC and iPlayer on December 26, the Princess Royal says the family argued that such practical matters should not be her concern.

“I think there was a point where she felt it would be harder for her to die at Balmoral. I think we tried to convince her that it shouldn’t be part of the decision-making process,” Anne says in the documentary, according to The Daily Telegraph. “So I hope that in the end she felt that it was right, because we did.”

Sources told PEOPLE at the time of the late queen’s death that it was fitting that she spend her final hours at Balmoral because it was such a special place for her and her family.

Princess Anne at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in September 2022. Martin Meissner – Pool/Getty

And Princess Anne, 73, reiterates how special Balmoral is for a family.

“We spent a lot of time there in our youth and probably a lot of it was more independent living than anywhere else,” she says.

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In a touching moment in the upcoming special, the Princess Royal describes how she felt when a jeweler removed the imperial state crown from her mother’s coffin, showing how leadership has now passed to her older brother, King Charles.

“When he took the crown off the casket, I felt a strange sense of relief,” she says. “Somehow that’s it, done. That responsibility is passed on.”

Queen Elizabeth’s last portrait, taken at Balmoral Castle on September 6, 2022 Jane Barlow – WPA Pool/Getty

Speaking about her brother, who became king after their mother’s death on September 8, she added: “To be honest, I’m not sure anyone can prepare for that kind of change, at least not easily. And then a change happens and you say, ‘OK, now I have to get on with it’. ”

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In other clips released ahead of the broadcast, Charles is seen walking down the corridor at Buckingham Palace on the morning of his coronation on May 6, supported by his pages, including grandson Prince George, 10. As he approaches his close associate, Charles waves his coronation robes and in a stupid voice he says to his horse: “I can fly!”

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King Charles and his sister Princess Anne on Coronation Day, May 6, 2023.

Chris Jackson/Getty

The documentary also features interviews with key players from the coronation, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, who (much to Charles’s delight!) was seen fluttering lines during the recitation of the coronation rehearsal prayer. Queen Camilla’s sister, Annabel Elliot, also appears and sums up the wonder and emotion of seeing the couple leave for the coronation ceremony.

“When I remembered how I was 2 years old and watching [the late Queen Elizabeth’s] the coronation on a small black and white TV and here’s this golden carriage with my sister in it,” she says in the documentary. “I can’t explain the feeling because it’s so surreal. This can’t happen. It was the right moment.”

Charles III: Year of Coronation premieres on BBC One and iPlayer on December 26.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla travel in the Diamond Jubilee Coach to their coronation at Westminster Abbey on May 6.

Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

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Source: HIS Education