Why Kate Middleton Didn’t Go to Balmoral with Prince William as Queen Elizabeth Lay Dying

Kate was not asked to stay behind on the day Queen Elizabeth died, according to a new book

A new book is shedding light on why Kate Middleton didn't travel to Scotland with Prince William on the day Queen Elizabeth died.

In an excerpt of royal biographer Robert Hardman’s book, The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy (out Jan. 18), in the Daily Mail on Friday, the author touches on the events surrounding the death of Queen Elizabeth on Sept. 8, 2022.

As William, 41, and other members of the royal family rushed to be by the Queen's side in Balmoral after doctors announced they were "concerned" for her health, the soon-to-be Princess of Wales, 42, chose to stay home in Windsor with the couple’s children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.

It was the start of a new term at a new school for the three siblings and Kate decided that one parent should be with the children on such an important day, according to the excerpt.

Related: Queen Elizabeth’s Final Moments Before Her Death Revealed in New Book

In 2022, reports indicated that Meghan Markle had been requested to stay behind while Prince Harry made his journey to Scotland, with the perception that Kate was also excluded for similar reasons. But according to royal biographer Hardman, Kate made the decision herself.

“It was by luck rather than judgement, but it made it a lot easier to tell Harry he was coming alone,” a royal aide says in the new book.

Harry recounted the day that his grandmother died in his memoir, Spare, released last January. Harry and Meghan, who live in California, were in the U.K. with a scheduled charity event appearance in London when he got a call from his father saying "Granny's health had taken a turn."

Harry wrote, "She was up at Balmoral, of course. Those beautiful, melancholy late-summer days. He hung up—he had many other calls to make — and I immediately texted Willy to ask whether he and Kate were flying up. If so, when? And how? No response. Meg and I looked at flight options."

"Then another call came from Pa," the Duke of Sussex continued. "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. Don't ever speak about my wife that way."

"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," the text continued. "Then that's all you needed to say."

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Prince Harry chartered a flight by himself, and news of Queen Elizabeth's death broke publicly while he was in the air.

According to the Daily Mail’s excerpt of The Making of a King, a member of the palace staff says that Charles had been urgently trying to make contact with Harry.

“There were repeated attempts to get through to him but no calls were going through because Harry was airborne,' the official says.

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