Queen’s cause of death could be revealed next week

At 12:30 pm on Thursday, September 8, Buckingham Palace expressed concerns about the Queen’s health. At 6:30 pm, Buckingham Palace released another statement: ‘The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.’

Queen Elizabeth II exempt from needing a death certificate

Queen Elizabeth II died at her Balmoral Estate in Scotland on 8th September.

Buckingham Palace released a statement confirming the Queen’s passing, stating that she ‘died peacefully’. The announcement gave no other indications of the cause of her death or the health issues that had plagued Her Majesty in the months preceding her death.

Newsweeknotes that a sovereign’s death is not legally required to be registered in England, meaning that the Queen may not have an official death certificate. The Registration Act of 1836 exempts monarchs because the Act was signed ‘to provide the Means for a Complete Register of the Births, Deaths and Marriages of His Majesty’s subjects.’

The only way to confirm the official cause of death of the longest-reigning monarch in British history would be for Buckingham Palace to make an official statement or for King Charles III to reveal it personally. According to the publication, this is unlikely as royals’ health is usually not aired publicly.

Speculation on the cause of death

One royal expert speculated that Queen Elizabeth II died ‘of a broken heart’ after losing her husband, Prince Philip, in 2021, Scottish Express Dailyreports.

However,News.com.au reports that Lady Colin Campbell claims the Queen died as a result of a bone condition brought on partly by stress. In a lengthy video posted shortly before the official statement from Buckingham Palace, Lady Colin Campbell states: ‘I think we can be also grateful for the fact her death was relatively painless. Bone cancer is not fun.’

How the law in Scotland makes all the difference

However, the Queen passed away in Scotland, and the law there is different. The Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act of 1965 dictates that ‘the death of every person dying in Scotland’ needs to be registered.

That means a death certificate needs to be submitted to a registrar within seven days of the death. No terms exempt a monarch from following the Act’s requirements by law. Therefore, a death certificate and registration could have been made for the Queen.

If that’s so, anybody can request the Queen’s death certificate from the National Records of Scotland for £10, per Scottish Express Daily.

Of course, there is a possibility that a special arrangement was made.

Scottish Express Daily reports that the National Records of Scotland said it would wait until a week after the official state mourning had ended tocomment on releasing a death certificate.

Sources used:

- Newsweek: Will Queen Elizabeth II’s Cause of Death Be Revealed?

- News.com.au: Royal biographer Lady Colin Campbell claims the Queen died from bone condition

- Scottish Daily Express: Cause of Queen Elizabeth’s death may be revealed next week after royal mourning period

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