London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 22, 2026

Queen's cause of death given as 'old age' on death certificate

Queen's cause of death given as 'old age' on death certificate

Queen Elizabeth II died of "old age", according to her death certificate, which has been released by the National Records of Scotland.

The certificate records the Queen died at 15:10 on 8 September in Balmoral Castle, at the age of 96.

Princess Anne is recorded as the person providing the information about the Queen's death.

For "occupation" of the deceased, the official form says: "Her Majesty the Queen."

The doctor who certified the death at Balmoral in Aberdeenshire was Douglas Glass, who Buckingham Palace says was an "apothecary to the Queen".

When she was alive there was a curtain of privacy around the Queen's health, and in her death there remains some restraint.

Her cause of death is recorded as "old age", without any further details.


"Old age" is only usually given as the sole cause of death in very limited circumstances.

This would be where the certifying doctor has personally cared for someone over a long period; where a gradual decline has been observed and where a doctor is not aware of any identifiable disease or injury contributing to a death.

But the timing of the Queen's death does confirm more about what happened during the day of 8 September, when so much attention was being paid to reports of her ill health.

Buckingham Palace had formally announced the Queen's death at 18:30, with news organisations around the world immediately relaying the announcement that: "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon."

There were subsequent reports that the Prime Minister Liz Truss had been privately notified earlier at 16:30.

This death certificate shows the Queen had died at 15:10, more than three hours before the news was publicly released.

During that afternoon, following earlier reports of concern about the Queen's health, her children and grandchildren had rushed to Balmoral.

Buckingham Palace had confirmed in a statement of 12:32 that there were health concerns - but that the Queen was "comfortable" and "under medical supervision".

King Charles - then Prince Charles - and his sister Princess Anne had already been in Scotland.

But other members of the Royal Family travelled by air that afternoon, including Prince William.

The timings would now suggest that their flight was still on its way to Aberdeen airport at the time of the Queen's death.

After the drive from the airport, Prince William, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward and his wife Sophie arrived at Balmoral at about 17:00.

The stark details of the death certificate record the Queen's status as "widowed" and give some family details.

It requires the names and occupations of parents - her father formally recorded as Albert Frederick Arthur George Windsor, whose occupation was King George VI, her mother as Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, who was Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

The death had been recorded by the local registrar in Aberdeenshire on 16 September, when the Queen was lying in state in Westminster Hall in London.

The Queen's death certificate was released on the same day that the public was able to see her final resting place for the first time.

Hundreds queued outside Windsor Castle to view the King George VI memorial chapel, inside St George's Chapel, where a ledger stone inscribed with the late monarch's name lies.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
The rise and fall of Hui Ka Yan, China’s richest man
Woke: Britain Considers Plain Packaging for Cigars as Specialist Shops Warn of Industry Collapse
Britain's Public-Service Productivity Remains Below 2019 as £80 Billion Output Gap Fuels WFH Debate
Mandelson Epstein Case in Jeopardy as U.S. Files Stay Out of Reach
Prince Harry and Six Others Ordered to Pay £9.5 Million After High Court Defeat
Bank of England Holds Interest Rate at 3.75% as Inflation and Energy Risks Persist
UK AI Security Tests Find Autonomous Agent Attempting Malicious Code Injection
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in Second Quarter Amid Global Pressures
UK Joins European Allies in Condemning Israeli Settlement Plans in West Bank E1 Area
Multiple People Killed in A66 Collision Near Middlesbrough Involving Police Vehicle
UK Government Holds First National Day for Victims and Survivors of Terrorism
UK Met Office Warns of Severe Autumn Storms as Strong El Niño Follows Historic Drought
Petrol Bombs Set Luxury Cars Alight Outside Birmingham Wedding as Police Hunt Three Men
Bitcoin Surges Toward $80,000 as Short Squeeze and ETF Inflows Ignite Crypto Rally
Prince Harry and Co-Claimants Ordered to Pay £9.5 Million Toward Daily Mail Publisher’s Legal Costs
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Reportedly Plan Return to Britain With Their Children
UK Court Ruling Threatens Deportation Plans for Potential Trafficking Victims to Albania
Kemi Badenoch Presses UK Government for Decisions on Rosebank and Jackdaw Oil Fields
UK Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Calls for Ban on Goods from Occupied West Bank
Andy Burnham Government to Place Civil Servants Directly in English Mayoral Offices
Met Office Warns Major El Niño Could Bring Stormier, Wetter Autumn to UK
UK Economy Gains Unexpected Momentum Ahead of Andy Burnham Government’s First Budget
Twenty-Nine US States Take Meta to Trial Over Alleged Child Addiction on Instagram and Facebook
Former Scottish National Party Executive Peter Murrell Jailed for Five Years Over £400,000 Embezzlement
Moderna and Merck's Personalized Cancer Vaccine Succeeds in Historic Late-Stage Melanoma Trial
Prince Harry and Meghan to Move Back to Britain With Their Children
England and Wales Have Fewer Than 1,800 Prison Places Left for Men
Royal Navy to Accelerate DragonFire Laser Deployment Against Growing Drone Threat
Northern Ireland Approves Five Hundred Million Pound Belfast Harbour Expansion
Great British Railways Takes Full Control of Avanti West Coast as Rail Nationalisation Reaches Final Stage
UK AI Safety Institute Calls for Mandatory Security Audits of Advanced AI Models
Scotland Secures Three Billion Pounds for Floating Offshore Wind Hub in Aberdeen
Government Overrides Local Councils to Approve Green Belt Housing Across Southern England
UK and EU Move Toward Mutual Recognition of Food Standards to Ease Cross-Channel Trade
Government Plans Multibillion-Pound Private Healthcare Expansion to Cut NHS Surgical Backlogs
Bank of England Signals Faster Rate Cuts as Inflation Falls Below the Two Percent Target
Suspected People Smuggler Arrested After Investigation Identified Him
Children's Doctors Warn That Vaping Can Lead Young People to Smoking
Hundreds of Thousands of Students Receive GCSE and Vocational Results Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Here Is What Can Never Happen in Your Country: Taiwan Is Giving Money to All Its People Because It Collected Too Much Tax
UK Inflation Rises to 2.9% as Energy Bills Jump
UK Issues New Conduct Guide for Asylum Seekers on Consent and Respect
Moderna Shares Surge After Positive Personalized Skin Cancer Trial Results
UK Markets Watch US National Debt Surpass Forty Trillion Dollars
UK Broadcasters Urge Government to Invest in Digital Participation and Broadband
CVC Capital Partners and Standard Life Launch Two Billion Pound Pension Risk Transfer Venture
UK Private Sector Productivity Growth Accelerates in Second Quarter
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband Condemns Israeli E1 Settlement Tender
UK Watchdog Investigates Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and RED Driving School Over Hidden Fees
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Plan Move to Private Home Outside London
×