Why Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II insisted on her final trip to Balmoral

Queen Elizabeth “knew she wasn’t going to come back” from the Balmoral home where she died peacefully aged 96, a royal expert has claimed.

Vanity Fair’s royal correspondent Katie Nicholl also told the BBC on Monday the British monarch wanted to pass at her beloved home in Scotland  as she could “leave her crown at the gates” and play a “different role” Katie said: “(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 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 writer added it was “deeply moving” to see the Queen’s coffin leave Balmoral on Sunday as it was the “place where she’d enjoyed holidays as a little girl”.

Katie added: “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.”

Balmoral was also a favourite place of the Queen’s late husband, Prince Philip, who died in April 2021 weeks short of his 100th birthday.

It was one of only two royal residences personally owned by the monarch, with the other Sandringham in Norfolk.

The Queen traditionally travelled to the estate every summer and stayed until October.

Courtiers say she spent her time balancing work and leisure time, reading diplomatic papers from her famous red boxes containing daily updates and royal business, while also hosting prime ministers at the estate.

The Queen's Scottish communications secretary Louise Tait said it was a “home” and somewhere the late monarch was “very, very happy”.

- Bang! Showbiz