ONE of the Queen’s last guests at Balmoral has told of his final poignant conversation with Her Majesty.
Dr Iain Greenshields, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, stayed with the Queen at her royal retreat last weekend – just days before she passed away aged 96.
The last photo taken of Queen Elizabeth II – just two days before her death
Dr Iain Greenshields spent her last weekend with The Queen in Balmoral
She spoke of her everlasting love for Prince Philip
He has now revealed how she was in “really good spirits” and how he was moved by how she spoke about her beloved Prince Philip.
They had dinner together on Saturday and lunch on Sunday – and even eerily brushed on the subject of afterlife.
Just four days later the longest-serving monarch in British history passed away.
Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland Dr Greenshields spoke of how she spent her final weekend on earth.
He said: “She was in great form, really good spirits – obviously frail, you can see that, but absolutely on the ball.
“She was talking about her past, her love for Balmoral, her father, her mother, Prince Philip, horses… very engaged with what was happening in the church and what was happening in the nation too.”
He explained how she spoke “very movingly” about Philip’s funeral and how her husband’s death hit her “‘particularly when the pipes were played during it”.
And he said the Queen seemed to be delighted to be spending time at her beloved highland home.
He said: “In conversation with her, she took me over to the window and she was looking over her gardens with great pride and affection.
“And I think that’s where she would have wanted to spend her last days and I would think the family are comforted by that.”
She then went on to “reflect on life” as they discussed her faith and the afterlife.
He told The Telegraph: “She was just talking about some of the remarkable people she’d met.
“And she was just reflecting on that and reflecting on life, and where this life leads to and we just talked about that and eternal life and resurrection, and what these things meant.
“And then, as happens in that conversation, you just move on to something else.”
“I think she loved where she was staying, and she mentioned that more than once, and found great peace in Balmoral, and I think it’s very fitting perhaps that that was the place that she died.”
It comes after a photographer told of the unforgettable moment she met the Queen two days before her death.
Jane Barlow, who works for PA, said the Queen was frail but in good spirits when she captured the last public photos of her on Tuesday.
Jane had been sent to Balmoral to photograph the moment the Queen met Liz Truss to formally adopt her as the new prime minister.
And, while waiting for the Conservative leader to arrive at the Queen’s Highland retreat, Jane snapped some portraits.
In that time, she and the monarch shared small talk about the weather, with dark skies and heavy rain overhead for much of the day.
But Jane, who has been a staff photographer with PA in Scotland for six years, said of the Queen: “I got a lot of smiles from her.”
