King Charles didn't ask Kate Middleton to stay away as Queen died - she made decision

Upon hearing of his grandmother's failing health, Prince William rushed to be by the Queen's side at Balmoral - but his wife Princess Kate made the decision to stay at their home

The royal family rushed to be by the Queen's bedside in the final hours of her life. Following a call from his father, Prince William boarded a plane to Scotland - but his wife Princess Kate was not by his side.

Instead, William travelled with his uncles Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, and Duchess Sophie. Kate's absence came as a surprise - she had forged a strong relationship with the Queen - and it was speculated that King Charles might have played a part in her decision to stay at home. Not so, according to royal author Robert Hardman, who examined the final days of the Queen's life in his book, Charles III: New King, New Court. The Inside Story. He revealed that Kate herself made the difficult decision to stay at home to be with her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.

The royal youngsters had just started at their new school, Lambrook, and Kate thought it was important for her to be there to support them. While Charles played no part in Kate's decision, he did ban Meghan Markle from travelling to Balmoral with Prince Harry to be with the dying Queen.

Harry wrote about the moment he was told Meghan should stay away in his memoir Spare, saying his father had told him Meghan wasn't allowed to attend because "no other wives were coming" - including Princess Kate. He recounted how Charles called him during his trip, stating: "He said I was welcome at Balmoral, but he didn't want... her. He started to lay out his reason, which was nonsensical, and disrespectful, and I wasn't having it."

Harry retorted firmly to his father's comments about Meghan: "Don't ever speak about my wife that way." He continued: "He stammered, apologetic, saying he simply didn't want a lot of people around. No other wives were coming, Kate wasn't coming, he said, therefore Meg shouldn't. Then that's all you needed to say."

The Queen peacefully passed away at 15:10 on 8 September. Of her family members, only Charles, Camilla and Princess Anne were able to see her before she died. Fortuitously, the siblings were both already in Scotland, having carried out events in the country earlier in the week including the Braemar Royal Highland Gathering, which they attended together over the weekend.

But only Anne was present when their mother slipped away. Charles had briefly stepped away from her bedside to clear his head and had gone out to gather mushrooms. He received the news that she had died as he was driving back to Balmoral when his most senior aide took a call. Charles pulled over and was addressed for the first time as 'Your Majesty' - signalling he was now King.

Buckingham Palace had announced at 12.50pm that Prince William , Prince Andrew , Prince Edward and Sophie had started to make their way to Scotland. Sadly, they were not in time. They landed at 3:50pm, 40 minutes after her death. With William at the wheel, they drove to Balmoral, arriving at 5.06pm. Harry, meanwhile, left Luton airport onboard a private jet at about 5.30pm. He was still in the air when the announcement of the queen's death was made at 6.30pm.