Others were caught off guard as the precisely prepared royal plans took effect. We remember those historic hours of

Queen Elizabeth

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Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, whose death in September set meticulous plans in motion. Photograph: Steve Parsons/AFP/Getty Images

Plans for the death of Queen Elizabeth II were rigorous, and they were studied and modified on a regular basis. On September 8th, they were flawlessly performed. However, not everything could be foreseen.

Balmoral Castle, despite its great, gothic revivalist appearance, is more intimate than Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle, which was one of the reasons the late queen adored it. The private apartments and government offices are rather close together.

So, on the morning of September 8th, few, if any, at Balmoral would have been uninformed of the historic events happening as the queen’s life slowly dwindled.

Liz Truss, her 15th and final British prime minister, was appointed two days earlier, leaning heavily on a stick but smiling as always. But there was an announcement

The queen’s decision to postpone a virtual privy council meeting on the advise of doctors shortly after 6 p.m. the next evening was troubling.

The imminent death of a sovereign is a significant constitutional issue. No. 10 would have been promptly notified to her deteriorating condition. Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, and Sir Edward Young, the queen’s private secretary, would act as the primary liaisons between the palace and Downing Street.

A flag at half mast flaps in the wind at Balmoral Castle in September. Photograph: Alastair Grant/AP

That evening, Case was notified, and he relayed the news to Truss, that the queen’s condition may swiftly worsen. According to sources, when Truss worked late on the energy announcement, her first significant act as prime minister, she was concerned that it would be overshadowed.

If any of the Windsor staff were unsure of the gravity of the situation, the departure of the queen’s helicopter from Windsor Castle shortly before 7 a.m. to transport the Prince of Wales from Dumfries House in Ayrshire, where he was staying that night, to his mother’s bedside, would have alerted them.

Charles arrived in Balmoral soon before 10.30am, and the Duchess of Cornwall was driven from nearby

Birkhall will join him. The Princess Royal, who was in Scotland on engagements, was already present.

In No. 10, Case stated categorically that horrible news was on its way, possibly within hours. Truss had not yet packed all of her garments for her relocation to Downing Street, and according to the biography Out of the Blue, aides were dispatched to her Greenwich house to locate black attire.

Truss was also in the middle of a reshuffle when the palace began informing key members of the cabinet about its intended “cascade” strategy. One minister stated that they arrived into their new department and were told without ceremony, “You have a meeting in 30 minutes.” Officials stated unequivocally that the queen’s death was near and that the minister’s first priority would be to receive an immediate briefing on the so-called London Bridge plans.

“That was like a baptism of fire for me,” the minister explained. “I didn’t support Liz because I expected to remain on the sidelines. So not only was I thinking about changing departments and assuming a job that was completely foreign to me, but within minutes, I was part of one of

“The most high-profile operations on Earth.”

Indications to the broader public that something was awry came from a place where the queen is rarely mentioned: the House of Commons. Truss had completed her introductory remarks and was listening to Sir Keir Starmer. Nadhim Zahawi, the new chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, went into the chamber and put himself between Kwasi Kwarteng and Truss to talk with the prime minister, handing her a note before slipping out again. MPs sensed the tremor almost immediately and began whispering among themselves.

The next person to be informed was Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, who read a message from outside the chamber and delivered it to the shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, who also looked grim-faced.

The note was written in ordinary English, with no codes referencing “London Bridge”. It clarified: “The queen is unwell, and Keir needs to leave the chamber as soon as possible to be briefed.” Rayner tried not to be “too dramatic” when presenting the paper to Starmer, she has since stated, torn between not wanting to disrupt him mid-flow and understanding the severity of the issue. She then noticed the speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, gesticulating, implying she should interrupt the Labour leader regardless.

Buckingham Palace issued a statement at 12.32pm, saying, “The queen’s doctors are concerned for Her Majesty’s health and have suggested that she remain under medical monitoring. The queen is still comfortable and in Balmoral.”

The BBC’s Huw Edwards, dressed in black tie, broke the news to the audience. Truss’s nighttime call to French President Emmanuel Macron was cancelled.
When Buckingham Palace announced at 12.50pm that William, Andrew, Edward, and Sophie were on their way to Scotland, the gravity of the situation was obvious. In a separate statement issued at 2 p.m., the Sussexes, who were staying at Frogmore Cottage during a visit to the UK to attend an awards ceremony, announced that they, too, would be travelling to Scotland.

For the Queen’s family Guardian, If members had not already arrived at Balmoral and had no idea how quickly she would suffer, it would have been a difficult decision: arrive too early and risk spreading panic; arrive too late and miss the opportunity to say farewell.