Queen Elizabeth Realized She Was ‘Not Going to Reach 100’ Like Her Mother, Says Biographer

Queen Elizabeth was aware that the clock was ticking during her last year, royal biographer Robert Hardman writes in his new book about King Charles.

Queen Elizabeth died on September 8, 2022, aged 96 during the 70th year of her record-breaking reign, and Hardman sheds new light on the details surrounding her death in The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy (releases January 18).

In a passage of his book in Daily mail on Saturday, Hardman writes that the exact cause of the queen’s death is unclear because she “suffered from multiple illnesses in the last year.” (Biographer Gyles Brandreth previously reported that the Queen had myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow, and that the palace declined to comment.)

She understood that the medical prognosis meant that she would not imitate her mother and reach a hundred [the Queen Mother died at age 101 in 2002]so she was determined to use that year in the best possible way’, Hardman quotes a friend in The making of a king. “‘She made sure that she had all the family over the summer, so that especially the young people would always have happy memories of her.’ ”

Queen Elizabeth on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Trooping the Color parade in June 2022.

Jonathan Brady – WPA Pool/Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth knew her time was running out, had ‘no regrets’ before her death, book says

Due to the Queen’s advanced age, the possibility of a regency, which would allow Charles to replace her if she is deemed physically or mentally unfit, has been seriously considered.

‘Since the Queen Mother passed her 100th birthday, of course we had to think that the Queen would live to be the same age. A regency seemed almost inevitable. That would be very difficult,’ says a senior former associate, according to the excerpt.

However, Charles was reluctant to discuss the matter at length.

You could show up with all the paperwork and he’d say, ‘Did you go through all that? Are you satisfied with this?’ and that would be it,’ says the assistant daily mail’with extract. ‘He didn’t want to talk about the details… I think he felt that if you reach for something, you’re tempting fate.’

The Queen Mother and Prince Charles in August 2000.

UK Press/Getty

Queen Elizabeth also discussed with her family where she might spend her final days, Hardman says.

“Until the very end, she was endearingly aware of causing unnecessary inconvenience to others,” he writes, according to the excerpt.

Hardman mentions Princess Anne’s comments about these conversations, referring to remarks she made in a BBC One documentary Charles III: Year of Coronation.

“There was a moment when she felt it would have been more difficult if she had died at Balmoral,” the Princess Royal said in the special, which premiered on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) in the United Kingdom. “I think we tried to convince her that it shouldn’t be part of the decision-making process. So I hope in the end she felt it was the right thing to do,” said Princess Anne.

The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy by Robert Hardman.

Pegasus Books

Princess Anne says Queen Elizabeth is worried death at Balmoral will make things ‘difficult’

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.

On Queen Elizabeth’s 97th birthday in April 2023, Prince William and Kate Middleton released a never-before-seen picture of the matriarch at her beloved home in the Scottish Highlands. The photo shows the Queen with some of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, taken by Kate.

“Today would have been the 97th birthday of her late majesty Queen Elizabeth,” the caption read. “This photo – which shows her with some of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren – was taken at Balmoral last summer.”

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The photo shows the Queen sitting on a couch surrounded by the next generation of royals, including Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five.

Zara and Mike Tindall’s three children, Mia, 9, Lena, 5, and Lucas, 2, also smiled for the snap, as did Peter Phillips’ daughters Savannah, 13, and Isla, 11. The Queen’s two youngest grandchildren, Lady Louise Windsor, 20, and James, Earl of Wessex, 16, children of Prince Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, stood behind their younger cousins.

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Source: HIS Education