On the day of Queen Elizabeth II’s death, several members of the British royal family were unable to say goodbye to her. They arrived too late at the bedside of the dying queen.
And for good reason, the private jet which was to take them to Balmoral Castle in Scotland took off an hour late.
That day, it was Princes William and Andrew, as well as Prince Edward and his wife Sophie who was on board the jet. Harry, he had to go to Scotland on his own. So he arrived two hours following the death of his grandmother. Royal advisers refused to allow Harry and William to travel together, in case an accident killed them both. “There is a strong constitutional reason why William and Harry should not fly together, it has to do with the line of succession,” constitutional expert Brian Hoey told The Sun.
“The speed of events caught everyone off guard and might have affected travel plans,” adds the expert.
Fears for the Queen’s health were first expressed this Wednesday, September 7, when she was to postpone her Privy Council meeting. The queen, however, remained “comfortable” and was monitored throughout the night by doctors. Meanwhile, the Royal Family’s private jet, the Dassault Falcon, has been prepared in case family members need to fly to Scotland from London or Windsor. “It was a common sense decision,” says Brian Hoey. According to a close source, “Harry was furious” to have to go to Scotland on his own. Additionally, the Duke of Sussex was keen for Meghan to travel with him, but Charles reportedly deemed it inappropriate for Meghan to attend.
But around 12:32 p.m., Buckingham Palace’s announcement was more serious: “Following a further assessment this morning, the Queen’s doctors are concerned regarding Her Majesty’s health and have recommended that she remain under medical supervision.” This then caused a frantic race of the family to go to the bedside of Elizabeth II.
The Jet Dassault Falcon was scheduled to take off at 1:30 p.m. But he finally left the ground at 2:39 p.m., more than an hour late. The plane landed at 3:55 p.m. William, Andrew, Edward and Sophie then descended. They still had an hour’s drive before arriving at Balmoral.
