Princess Anne Reassured Queen Elizabeth Over Her Fears of Dying in Scotland

"Just do what you want to do."

Princess Anne wears a purple hat and Queen Elizabeth II wears a pastel green hat to attend Ladies Day during Royal Ascot on June 21, 2012
(Image credit: Indigo/Getty Images)

Queen Elizabeth died on September 8, 2022. The monarch was 96 when she passed away at her residence in Balmoral, Scotland. And according to a new podcast, the Queen feared dying in Scotland for a very specific reason.

Assistant editor for The London Times, Kate Mansey, appeared on "The Royals with Roya and Kate" podcast to discuss the Queen's death.

"Princess Anne said that the Queen had concerns about dying in Scotland, that it might be more trouble for everybody if she died in Scotland," Mansey revealed (via the Express).

She continued, "But of course there are plans in place, there was Operation Unicorn and Operation Overstudy to bring the Queen's body back should she die in Scotland."

According to Mansey, Anne reassured her mother about the important decision, saying, "Princess Anne at the time said, 'Just do what you want to do—it's fine.'"

Queen Elizabeth II wears a yellow outfit and Princess Anne wears a light green suit as they arrive at Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse on June 19, 2018

Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Anne arrive at Royal Ascot on June 19, 2018.

(Image credit: Kirstin Sinclair/Getty Images for Ascot Racecourse)

Royal expert Robert Hardman discussed the moment King Charles learned the Queen had died in his book, The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy.

The monarch's private secretary, Sir Edward Young, was required to tell Charles of the news of the Queen's death as soon as possible. "The new monarch knew exactly what was coming next," Hardman explained in an excerpt from his book, published by the Daily Mail.

Hardman continued, "He had just turned off the B976 onto the back drive of the estate when, at the age of 73, he was addressed as 'Your Majesty' for the first time. No further explanation was needed."

Meanwhile, Page Six claimed that Prince Harry was on a flight at the time of his grandmother's death, and learned she had passed away from a news report. The outlet reported that a "palace source confirmed that no-one from the royal family, or any courtiers, actually called Harry to tell him of the monarch's death—leaving him to find out from news reports when he landed late in the afternoon."

Amy Mackelden
Contributing Editor

Amy Mackelden is a contributing editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.