“Queen Elizabeth had no regrets. She was at peace before she died and her thoughts were centered on her faith, her father, King George VI, and the beauty of Balmoral.’ Recounting the last moments of the sovereign, who passed away on 8 September 2022 at the age of 96, is the Rev. Iain Greenshields, then moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. A year ago, in the last days of the queen’s life, she spent some time as a guest of the Royal Family.
“His Majesty was fragile – he says – but his mind was still sharp. She was very concerned about Faith. It was the year of the Platinum Jubilee and so she was looking back. She had a remarkable memory. She had no regrets ”. Greenshields explains that he was surprised that his visit had not been canceled as he found the Queen of England in not very good physical condition. He was one of the very few visitors admitted to Balmoral because numbers had been reduced for fear of tiring the Queen.
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“There were only six people at dinner during the three nights she was there, including Sophie Wessex (now the Duchess of Edinburgh), Princess Royal Anne and her husband, Commander Sir Timothy Laurence, John Warren, the trainer of horses of the queen and the sovereign herself”, recalls the religious. “During those last meals, the Queen spoke of her love for Scotland. At one point she went to the window and she said “who wouldn’t want to be here?” She was at peace with the world and she felt it. When she died I thought of my mother and how she too had spoken about faith in God just before she left us. So, I wonder if people, even subconsciously, are preparing for the end. It is also very common when people are dying to think about their parents, as the Queen did. She had always considered her life and her duties as head of state through the prism of the Christian faith and it seems that the faith has remained intact and firm”.
Greenshields delivered the homily at the service of thanksgiving for Elizabeth II at St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh on 11 September last year and attended the funeral in Westminster Abbey.
2023-09-06 20:37:00
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