Royal biographer Robert Hardman reveals what was said in the updated version of “Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story”

Queen Elizabeth watches from the balcony during the Trooping the Colour ceremony at Horse Guards Parade, central London, as the Queen celebrates her official birthday, on day one of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations on June 2, 2022. Photo: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire

The contents of Queen Elizabeth’s final diary entry have been revealed in the pages of a royal biography.

The late Queen wrote her final entry just two days before her death at age 96 on Sept. 8, 2022, Robert Hardman writes in the updated version of his book Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, which came out Nov. 7.

While at her beloved Balmoral on Sept. 6, Her late Majesty — who fastidiously kept a diary throughout her record-breaking 70-year reign — sat down to, as she always did, record the day’s events. “It is unsurprising that the monarch was diligent in her documentation, even as illness made her increasingly frail,” Tatler reported.

The journal entry was simple: “Edward came to see me,” Hardman wrote, referring to Sir Edward Young, her private secretary, who was helping the Queen make arrangements for the swearing in of newly elected U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss’ ministers. Appointing Truss on Sept. 6 would prove to be the Queen’s final public engagement after a lifetime of public service.

“It transpires that she was still writing it at Balmoral two days before her death,” Hardman wrote, per an excerpt in The Telegraph. “Her last entry was as factual and practical as ever.”

Queen Elizabeth’s diary was not a place for introspection but rather a log of the events that had transpired throughout her busy days, likely both to help her remember what happened on any given day, and possibly to serve as an archive of her day-to-day happenings for historians in the future.

“I have no time to record conversations, only events,” Queen Elizabeth once told society diarist Kenneth Rose.

A former member of the royal household told The Sun in 2019 that Queen Elizabeth wrote in her diary with a fountain pen using black ink, and that each diary was marked with her cypher and numbered with a Roman numeral. The diaries were leatherbound, and writing in her diary was the last act of the day for the late Queen every night “no matter how late the hour or how weary she may be,” the former member of the royal household said. “It is an unmissable duty, and she writes at a desk, never in bed.”

Her son and heir King Charles also keeps a journal, but “He doesn’t write great narrative diaries like he used to,” a senior courtier told Hardman. Instead, he “scribbles down his recollections and reflections” at the end of every day.

Just over two years after her death, King Charles, 75, spoke about his mother’s passing at Balmoral, located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and long a favorite late summer retreat for members of the royal family.

While addressing the Scottish Parliament on Sept. 30, the King said, “Speaking from a personal perspective, Scotland has always had a uniquely special place in the hearts of my family and myself. My late mother especially treasured the time spent at Balmoral, and it was there, in the most beloved of places, where she chose to spend her final days.”

King Charles Says Queen Elizabeth ‘Chose to Spend Her Final Days’ in Scotland: ‘Most Beloved of Places’

Charles spoke candidly about his late mother’s love for Scotland in a speech to the Scottish Parliament on Sunday, Sept. 29

King Charles is opening up about his late mother Queen Elizabeth’s final days at Balmoral.

Charles, 75, revealed in a speech addressing the Scottish Parliament on its 25th anniversary on Sunday, Sept. 29, that Elizabeth, “chose” Balmoral as her final resting place because of her love for both her estate and the country as a whole.

“My late mother especially treasured the time spent at Balmoral, and it was there, in the most beloved of places, where she chose to spend her final days,” the King said in his speech, while joined by Queen Camilla.

Before this Charles shared that Scotland “always had a uniquely special place in the hearts of my family and myself” and that his “beloved grandmother was proudly Scottish.”

Queen Elizabeth died at the age of 96 at Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on Sept. 8, 2022.

The late monarch famously traveled to Balmoral at least once a year — typically at the end of summer with the rest of the royal family and her late husband Prince Philip.

Charles’ speech discussing his late mother comes after he and Camilla, 77, were spotted attending church on the second anniversary of his mother’s death in the village of Crathie on Sept. 8.

His eldest son Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton, were also seen at the church in Kate’s first appearance since she announced the completion of her chemotherapy.

In the documentary Charles III: The Coronation Year, released in December 2023, Princess Anne revealed how her mother, Queen Elizabeth, shared her concerns about the difficulties involved in her passing away at Balmoral.

“I think there was a moment when she felt it would be more difficult if she died at Balmoral,” Anne, 74, said. She then explained that the royal family steered the late queen away from worrying about practical duties and towards enjoying Balmoral instead.

“I think we did try to persuade her that that shouldn’t be part of the decision-making process,” Anne said in the documentary, per The Daily Telegraph. “So I hope she felt that was right in the end, because we did.”

Prince Harry shared his memories of visiting Balmoral with the queen in his book Spare, released in January 2023.

“To me, Balmoral was always simply paradise,” he wrote.”My family lived to be outdoors, especially Granny, who got cross if she didn’t breathe at least an hour of fresh air each day.”