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Tuesday October 08, 2024

Queen Elizabeth harbored 'no regrets' before she passed away

The former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, stayed at the castle last summer

By Web Desk
September 07, 2023

Despite the family challenges that marked the final years of her life, Her Late Majesty Elizabeth II met her Maker at peace and with no regrets, as revealed by the senior churchman who accompanied her at Balmoral shortly before her passing.

The Right Reverend Dr. Iain Greenshields, the former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, stayed at the castle last summer as a customary guest of the Queen.

Her Late Majesty was frail, he told me, but that, in a series of one-to-one conversations, he found her mentally sharp and contemplative, preoccupied in particular with her faith and that of her father, George VI.

‘It would be normal for a Moderator to talk about matters of faith but I was very interested in how much she wanted to talk about her own,’ he recalled this week.

‘It was her Platinum Jubilee year and so she was looking back. She had remarkable recall. She had no regrets and was very much at peace.

‘She also mentioned her father - George VI - and the great influence his faith had on her.'

Dr. Greenshields said he had been surprised that his visit had not been cancelled as he found Queen Elizabeth frailer than he expected.