Former royal butler Paul Burrell, in a concluding extract from his memoir The Royal Insider, recounts intimate details of Queen Elizabeth II’s last months, writing that the monarch was diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 2021, kept the diagnosis largely secret and asked doctors to extend her life long enough to see her Platinum Jubilee.
Burrell writes that the Queen underwent blood transfusions, followed medical advice to give up alcohol and accepted simpler diets in an effort to prolong her life. He describes her as largely bedridden in her final days, saying she refused further treatment and that only immediate staff were told of the diagnosis while the wider family were informed later. The Queen died on Sept. 8, 2022, at Balmoral at age 96.
Burrell, who served at Buckingham Palace and later as a footman and butler, frames his account with personal recollections of his long service and closeness to the monarch. He writes that the Queen remembered him after an early encounter and that he served at her side for 11 years. In the extract he describes a final private visit to St. George’s Chapel at Windsor and an emotional moment at the slab bearing the names of George VI, Elizabeth, Elizabeth II and Philip.
The memoir also addresses family dynamics at the time of the Queen’s death. Burrell recounts arrangements to gather senior royals at Balmoral, and he writes that a private flight carrying the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and other family members departed without Prince Harry. According to Burrell, a dispute arose over whether Harry’s wife, Meghan, should accompany him, with some family members viewing the gathering as a moment for "blood family only." Burrell writes that Harry travelled alone to Balmoral, was met by what he describes as a "glacial front," and left the following morning after an apparently tense, largely silent stay.
Burrell attributes the strained reception to the couple’s public departure from royal duties in 2020 and subsequent public criticism of the family. He writes that members of the household feared Harry would bring Meghan and that some senior royals, including the Princess of Wales, remained at Windsor in a gesture that Burrell says signalled the gathering was intended for close family.
The extract revisits other private details and traditions. Burrell recalls notes from the Duke of Edinburgh to the Queen, describes Princess Margaret’s earlier decision to be cremated so the Queen could be laid to rest beside Prince Philip, and recounts the Queen’s preference for simplicity at her committal service. He offers anecdotal detail about the Queen’s food preferences and a jar of quince jelly the monarch carried between residences.
Burrell’s account mixes first-person recollection with broader observations about the royal household’s handling of mourning and continuity. He characterises the period as one in which the Queen sought to avoid a regency and to continue ruling until the end, noting that she had told staff she did not want to be a "sick queen" with a regent in place.
The memoir passage records Burrell’s view of how the palace and family responded to grief and change, including his assessments of individual family members such as the late Queen’s sons and their prospects within the monarchy. Those assessments are presented as his personal reflections and are not accompanied by corroborating sources in the extract.
The material is adapted from The Royal Insider by Paul Burrell, due to be published Sept. 11, 2025. The book is presented as a personal account by a former member of the royal household and offers details that echo public timelines — including the Queen’s death in September 2022 and the subsequent state and committal services — while adding anecdotal and private recollections about the final months of Elizabeth II’s reign.