Royal biographer Robert Hardman's latest book, The Making of a King: Charles III and the Modern Monarchy, details the day Queen Elizabeth III died at the age of 96 in Balmoral, Scotland, on September 8, 2022, and the days immediately following.

After a family gathering at Balmoral, the new King Charles and Queen Camilla flew together from Aberdeen Airport to Northolt Air Force Base in west London. From there, they drove to Buckingham Palace, where the new King asked his driver to stop outside the gates. The new king asked his driver to stop outside the gates and prepared to shake hands with the mourners outside.

The first mourner asked, "May I hug you?" The king reportedly asked, to which she replied, "Of course." According to the book, Camilla later recalled to friends that one of her most striking memories of that walk was an exchange with a woman. She told him, "I will do that," and he promised to do so.

Before leaving for London after the late Emperor's death, Prince Charles and his son and heir, Prince William, watched what was essentially a training video, according to the Mirror. Its content was reportedly created in 2015 by Sir Clive Alderton, private secretary to Prince Charles and his wife Camilla.

While the rest of the royal family was dining at Balmoral, father and son sat together and watched the video on the office computer. Alderton later said that Prince Charles was "formal and informal" in his meetings with his staff.

At the same time, Prince Charles had carefully written and rewritten his speech before giving it in the evening. Camilla sat in a corner of the Blue Drawing Room, in a position where she could watch Charles without being seen by him. This was in case Camilla cried during the speech, so that Camilla would not upset Charles in the opposite direction," the Mirror wrote.

The Making of a King is available now.