Why Kate didn't go to Balmoral with William – as it's been revealed that even as Her Majesty slipped away, the King was dealing with another Prince Harry drama

Prince Harry was not told that his sister-in-law had personally decided not to travel to Balmoral as the late queen lay dying, a fascinating new biography reveals.

While the royal family was furious with his father on the day in September 2022 when Charles asked him to come to Scotland alone and leave wife Meghan behind, he was apparently reassured by the news that Kate would not be going too.

But what he didn't know, royal biographer Robert Hardman reveals, is that the king hadn't actually asked Kate to stay away.

She had decided to stay at Adelaide Cottage in Windsor with her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

They started their new school, Lambrook, on September 8, and the Duchess of Cambridge felt they needed one parent.

Her husband, Prince William, understandably rushed to Scotland to see his grandmother with the then Earl and Countess of Wessex and the Duke of York.

“It was more coincidence than judgement, but it made it a lot easier to tell Harry he was coming alone,” said a royal aide.

The book also notes that, like the late Duke of Edinburgh, she… [Queen Elizabeth] did not like a line of family well-wishers who gathered at her bedside when she was sick'.

The revelation comes in a compelling new biography of the king, 'Charles III: New King, New Court. The Inside Story', by the Daily Mail's esteemed royal expert, Robert Hardman.

The book will be sent in serial mail over the next four days, starting on Saturday.

It details the dramatic story of the King's accession to the throne and provides unparalleled access to the Royal Family, their close friends, staff past and present, top politicians and previously invisible papers in the Royal Archives kept under lock and key.

Although Harry plays a noticeably small role in the wider story, the book details how, as the future queen's life slowly faded away, drama emerged in the background.

The prince was in Britain with his wife Meghan when his father personally called him on September 8 to break the news that her health was deteriorating.

In his memoir, Spare, he claims he then texted his older brother to ask about travel arrangements, but William did not reply.

“It is clear that Prince William did not feel this was the appropriate time for the extremely difficult conversation he had to have with his brother,” Royal expert Robert Hardman of Daily Mail wrote dryly.

He says there was wariness about Harry's upcoming biography and many in the family were still sad about the Sussexes' “reckless betrayal” regarding their interview with Oprah Winfrey.

“Some of the family was probably willing to give him an opinion,” Hardman quotes a source.

Under normal circumstances, senior royals themselves wouldn't even discuss such logistics. That would be left to their staff.

Kensington Palace says Harry's team – 'the Sussex camp' – 'had all the numbers', but no such call came.

Charles called Harry again. In this phone call, the prince later claimed, he was told to come without Meghan.

'We can easily imagine the fear with which the [then] Prince of Wales approached that call. The Sussexes' ability to take offense was well known and everyone was aware that any conversation could end up in the public domain – as this case did three months later,” Hardman says dryly.

Harry raged at his father over Meghan, he later admitted, describing him in Spare as “nonsensical and disrespectful.”

'I didn't have it. Never talk about my wife that way,” he wrote.

But Charles explained that he didn't want many people in the house and besides, Harry's sister-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge, wasn't coming either.

“Then that's all you had to say,” the prince wrote, apparently softened by this.

But what he didn't know, Hardman reveals, is that the king had not asked Kate to stay away at all.

“She certainly wasn't asked to stay away,” he writes.

“Rather, it was the start of a new term at a new school for George, Charlotte and Louis, and she decided that one parent should be with them on such an important day.”

He emphasizes that at that stage no one knew exactly how bad the situation had become.

Harry also claimed in Spare that no one told him his grandmother had died and that he had to learn the news from a BBC news alert on his phone when he landed in Scotland on a commercial flight that evening.

“Not exactly,” Hardman writes. 'A Palace employee says that the king urgently tried to make contact with his youngest son. “There were repeated attempts to reach him, but no calls came in because Harry was in the air,” the official said.

Adapted from Charles III by Robert Hardman, to be published by Macmillan on 18 January for £22. © Robert Hardman 2024. To order a copy for £17.60 (offer valid until 29/02/2024; UK P&P free on orders over £25) please visit www.mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937.