What condition killed Queen Elizabeth II? The official record offers an answer,
but it's not an especially scientific one.
Queen Elizabeth died on September 8, 2022,
at the age of 96, after 70 years on the throne. The queen spent her final days
at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, a country that was very near and dear to her heart.
The queen's death sparked widespread mourning from people all across the
globe. England expressed its grief in the most momentous ways. According to PBS,
thousands of people braved chilly temperatures and exposure to the elements to line up outside
Westminster Hall for the chance to pay their respects to the queen prior to her funeral.
"In our lifetime, we've never seen nothing like this. To come down and pay your respects,
it just seems the right thing to do."
In the immediate aftermath of Queen Elizabeth's death, King Charles III extended the period of
national mourning to considerably longer than usual. He issued a statement that read, in part,
"Following the death of Her Majesty The Queen, it is His Majesty The King's wish
that a period of Royal Mourning be observed from now until seven days after The Queen's Funeral."
The funeral took place on September 19,
so the period of mourning officially ended on September 26.
Not long after the period of mourning ended,
Queen Elizabeth's official cause of death was revealed. On September 29,
the National Records of Scotland released her death certificate, which revealed that she
died at 3:10 p.m. from "old age." The queen's daughter, Princess Anne, signed the document.
The New York Times notes that the queen's time of death confirms that only Princess
Anne and King Charles, who were both already in Scotland on official duties,
were present before the queen passed away.
"Old age" is not a particularly specific cause of death. Before the release of the
death certificate, a few medical professionals speculated as to what exact medical issues
the queen may have had. For example, Dr. Deb Cohen-Jones noted to the Daily Mail that the
queen's bruised hands might have been an indicator of peripheral vascular disease. She explained,
"It's a blood circulation disorder that causes the blood vessels outside
your heart and brain to narrow, block or spasm. It can sometimes result in heart
failure [and] can be a sign of multi-organ failure."
In the months leading up to Queen Elizabeth's death, her health prevented her from making
some appearances. In June 2022, the queen was noticeably absent from key events during her
Platinum Jubilee celebration, which marked her 70th year on the throne.
Buckingham Palace addressed her absence in a statement, which read, in part,
"Her Majesty enjoyed today immensely, but episodic
mobility issues were experienced during the course of the day."
In February, the queen contracted Covid-19. She described the experience:
"It does leave one very tired and exhausted, doesn't it, this horrible pandemic?"
The queen was fully vaccinated,
so Buckingham Palace prepared for her to recover quickly, saying in a statement,
"She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the appropriate guidelines."
Queen Elizabeth lived a very long life, and she had a few health scares well
before the months leading up to her death. She remained resilient through all of them,
and almost always returned back to work immediately. In 1994, doctors confirmed the
monarch suffered a broken wrist after falling off a horse. In 2013, she was admitted to the hospital
showing signs of gastroenteritis, according to Us Weekly. It was the first time in 20 years that
she was absent from the annual Commonwealth Day Observance service, according to the Independent.
And, in December 2016, NBC News reported that Queen Elizabeth
and her husband Prince Philip had come down with a brutal cold which
resulted in them having to cancel holiday plans. A representative told the outlet,
"The queen and The Duke of Edinburgh have heavy colds,
and so have decided not to travel to Sandringham today."
Queen Elizabeth was the longest-reigning monarch in British history — and given the royal family
tree, it's no surprise she lived to the age of 96. In April 2021, the queen's husband,
Prince Phillip, died at the age of 99, just months before his 100th birthday. Queen Elizabeth's
mother was another example of longevity. She lived to age 101, peacefully dying in her sleep.