Queen Elizabeth II died of simple “old age” — and nearly 3 1/2 hours before her royal family announced it to the world, according to a copy of her death certificate released Thursday.
The much-loved 96-year-old monarch’s death was listed as being at 3:10 p.m. on Sept. 8, less than 3 hours after Buckingham Palace had warned that her doctors were “concerned for Her Majesty’s health.”
It was also three hours and 20 minutes before the royal family formally announced that she had “died peacefully at Balmoral,” her Scottish retreat.
The timing meant that the UK and its Commonwealth had for hours unknowingly been under the reign of a new monarch, King Charles III.
It also meant the queen was already dead when a plane-load of her royal relatives — including new heir apparent Prince William — landed in Scotland in a doomed race to see her.
The group, including two of the queen’s sons, Princes Edward and Andrew, touched down just before 4 p.m., looking crestfallen as they arrived at Balmoral nearly two hours after the monarch had died.
Exiled Prince Harry, who was forced to travel alone, arrived even later, learning of his grandmother’s death via online reports, palace sources told Page Six.
Only the queen’s two eldest children — the now-King Charles and Princess Anne — made it in time, having both already been in Scotland.
Anne, 72, formally signed off on her mother’s death certificate, according to an extract released by the National Records of Scotland.
Despite a series of health woes ahead of her death, the cause was listed simply as “Old Age.”
The certificate used the late monarch’s full name, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, and listed her as widowed.
For “occupation,” it stated: “Her Majesty the Queen.”
The cause of death was signed off by certified registered medical practitioner Douglas James Allan Glass, who told The Times of London he had “been looking after her for 34 years” and “was there when she died.”
“It was upsetting at the time but because of her age it was not unexpected so it was not a shock,” the doctor said, saying the queen “was always very pleasant to me over the years.”
Glass said he had been “concerned about the queen’s health for several months” and went to Balmoral that morning “for a routine surgery,” without detailing what it was for.
“I was around at the time of her death … It was expected and we were quite aware of what was going to happen,” he told the UK paper.
He confirmed that “Princess Anne had been in close attendance and [King] Charles was present.”
The certificate was released after the end of the official period of royal mourning, which continued seven days after the queen’s hours-long funeral processions and services on Sept. 19.
The late queen was buried inside the King George VI Memorial Chapel, part of St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, alongside her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, who died last year just before his 100th birthday.
On Thursday, the castle was reopened for the first time since her death — with huge lines once again forming to pay final respects.
