The Queen ‘knew she wasn’t going to come back and wanted to pass at Balmoral’,

The Queen ‘knew she wasn’t going to come back and wanted to pass at Balmoral because she could actually leave her crown at the gates and be a different role’, a royal expert has claimed.

Vanity Fair’s royal correspondent Katie Nicholl appeared on the BBC today ahead of the service of thanksgiving at St Giles’ Cathedral, where the Queen’s coffin will remain until Tuesday, when it will be flown to London ahead of the state funeral, after travelling from the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Her Majesty died aged 96 on Thursday at Balmoral, having spent much of the summer at her beloved Scottish residence – despite dealing with ‘mobility issues’.

Speaking to presenter Huw Edwards, Katie claimed the Queen ‘knew she wasn’t going to come back [to Windsor Castle or Buckingham Palace], I think she wanted to be in Balmoral and she wanted to pass there.’

She added that the Queen could be just a ‘mother, grandmother and great-grandmother there’ and ‘leave her crown at the gates’.

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The Queen (pictured on September 6, 2022) ‘knew she wasn’t going to come back and wanted to pass at Balmoral because she could actually leave her crown at the gates and be a different role’, a royal expert has claimed

Vanity Fair’s royal correspondent Katie Nicholl (pictured) appeared on the BBC today ahead of the service of thanksgiving at St Giles’ Cathedral, where the Queen’s coffin will remain until Tuesday, when it will be flown to London ahead of the state funeral, after travelling from the Palace of Holyroodhouse

Pallbearers carry the coffin of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II as the hearse arrives at the Palace of Holyroodhouse on September 11, 2022 in Edinburgh

Huw said: ‘The Queen, with serious health issues, decided nonetheless that she did want to spend a good deal of time at Balmoral during the summer.

‘That decision speaks volumes really about the fact that she was A) very comfortable to be in Balmoral, somewhere where she was happy to be with lots of good memories, but knowing too, with health issues and the challenges there, it might be a difficult stay and yet she insisted on making the journey.’

Katie replied: ‘She insisted on making the journey and I think, she was the Queen of Scots and I think she wanted this to be part of her homecoming, her ultimate homecoming.’

The author added that it was ‘deeply moving’ to see the Queen’s coffin leave Balmoral yesterday, ‘knowing that she would never return to the place where she’d enjoyed holidays as a little girl.’ 

Katie continued: ‘I think Balmoral was the one place where she could actually leave her crown at the gates and be a different role, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother.

‘I actually think there’s a bit of her that knew she wasn’t going to come back, I think she wanted to be in Balmoral and she wanted to pass there. And the fact that she did peacefully is actually a blessing in all of this.’

September 1960: Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with their children, Prince Andrew (centre), Princess Anne (left) and Charles III (then Prince Charles) sitting on a picnic rug outside Balmoral Castle in Scotland

Brimming with memories, Balmoral was also a favourite place of the Queen’s late husband, Prince Philip, who became known for his legendary barbecues when staying at the Scottish estate. 

While the Cambridges too are known to love spending summers there, along with other royal grandchildren. 

Indeed, in his statement released on Saturday, William spoke about the happy memories he has of holidaying with the Queen and his children George, nine, Charlotte, seven, and Louis, four.  

It was this mix of family time, relaxed holidays and the stunning landscape and space that the 50,000 acre estate offered, that captured the late Queen’s heart. It is also where she spent her final days before her death on Thursday, aged 96.  

In the 2016 documentary, Our Queen at Ninety, Princess Eugenie said of Balmoral: ‘It’s the most beautiful place on earth. I think Granny is most happy there. I think she really, really loves the Highlands.’ 

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in a field with some highland cattle at Balmoral, Scotland, 1972

She added: ‘Walks, picnics, dogs – a lot of dogs, there’s always dogs – and people coming in and out all the time. It’s a lovely base for Granny and Grandpa, for us to come and see them up there, where you just have room to breathe and run.’

In the BBC’s A Tribute To Her Majesty The Queen, Princess Anne echoed this sentiment, recalling wonderful holidays. 

She said this was partly because Balmoral comprised all the things that the Queen enjoyed, including ‘the countryside, the dogs, the horses and just being out and about and being able to get away a bit from that public gaze’. 

Prince Edward, the Queen’s youngest child, added: ‘The happiest times inevitably that we’d spend together would be on holidays, so Balmoral and Sandringham stand out very, very clearly as…