Jenna Bush Hager has opened up about the dinner she had with Prince Charles the night before he became King Charles III in the wake of the Queen‘s death.
The Today host was in Ayrshire, Scotland, last week to interview Camilla, the former Duchess of Cornwall, who is now Queen Consort, about her online book club, The Reading Room.
Bush Hager, 40, was supposed to meet with her on Wednesday ahead of their sit down, but Charles ended up taking her place after her British Airways flight was delayed.
‘It was a lovely meal,’ she told Hoda Kotb and Craig Melvin on the Today show Monday morning. ‘He first said, “My darling wife was so sad [not to make it].’ And I just love [that].’
Jenna Bush Hager, 40, opened up about the dinner she had with Prince Charles while reflecting on her visit to Scotland last week on the Today show Monday
The Today host was in Ayrshire to interview Camilla, the former Duchess of Cornwall, who is now Queen Consort (pictured with King Charles III on Monday)
Bush Hager said she turned to her husband, Henry Hager, who was also at the dinner, and asked: ‘Will you call me “darling wife” from now on?’
Charles also told her that Camilla ‘can’t wait to sit down with you tomorrow.’
‘We had a wonderful evening filled with conversation that felt joyful,’ the former first daughter added.
Looking back at the dinner, she believes the concerns for Queen Elizabeth’s health the next morning came as a ‘surprise’ to the family.
Bush Hager, who had been planning the interview with Camilla for about a year, explained that she and her crew were also caught off guard by the turn of events.
Bush Hager was supposed to have dinner with Camilla on Wednesday, the night before their sit-down, but Charles took her place after her flight was delayed
The former first daughter said they had a ‘wonderful evening filled with conversation,’ and she believes the concerns over Queen Elizabeth’s health took the family by surprise
‘The next morning, we were setting up the interview,’ she said. ‘We were at their house. It’s called the Dumfries House — they actually bought it, redid it, and then gave it to the people of Scotland.’
‘The interview was supposed to start around 2 or 2:30,’ she continued. ‘I was supposed to meet with the now-Queen Consort around 1:30. At 12:30, we heard sort of running up and down the halls.’
They were preparing to film in the library at Dumfries House when the royals’ team came to speak with them.
‘They came in and said, “Can you please be quiet? There’s a call,”‘ she recalled. ‘We were right by then-Prince Charles’, now King Charles III’s, office. They said, “He’s on a call can you please be quiet.” Then, all of a sudden, we heard a helicopter.’
Bush Hager was then told that Camilla had to postpone the interview.
On Thursday, Bush Hager and her team were preparing to film in the library at Dumfries House when the royals’ team came to speak with them
‘They said, “The Queen is ill, and they have gone and rushed off to be with her,”‘ she explained. ‘We just said our hearts are with them’
‘They said, “The Queen is ill, and they have gone and rushed off to be with her,”‘ she explained. ‘We just said our hearts are with them.’
She admitted she was disappointed at the time because she was looking forward to talking books with Camila, but it was surreal to be there at that moment, saying: ‘It was living history.’
Bush Hager announced on the Today show Thursday that the interview had been pushed back while filming outside of Dumfries House, just hours before the Queen’s death was announced.
‘Our hearts are with not only their family but also all of those that have loved this Queen for decades and decades,’ she said. ‘As you all know, she is a beloved figure. She’s worked with 15 prime ministers. She’s just been this cornerstone of steadiness, not only for this country but for her family.’
‘My heart breaks, too,’ she added. ‘In so many ways, we see her as this incredible political figure, but she’s a mother, she’s a grandmother, she’s a great-grandmother, and now she has her family by her bedside.’
Bush Hager was overcome with emotion as she revealed on the Today show Thursday that her interview with Camilla was postponed, just hours before the Queen’s death
Charles, the former Prince of Whales, was seen leaving Dumfries House and heading to Balmoral as he and his siblings raced to be by their mother’s side in her final moments
Bush Hager stressed during the live segment that the royals have ‘packed’ schedules, and it is incredibly rare for them to drop everything like they did that day.
‘Public grieving is a really difficult thing. The whole UK’s heart is breaking for this family,’ she said. ‘I think so many times we see them as this institution, you know, as the royals, but as I spent time with Prince Charles, he’s much more. He’s a man who I’m sure is hurting terrifically today.’
The announcement of Queen Elizabeth II’s death was made just hours after Bush Hager’s interview was canceled
All of Queen Elizabeth’s children had rushed to Balmoral to be with her on Thursday. Hours later she died, surrounded by her family. The monarch’s death was confirmed at 6:30 p.m. UK time.
‘The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow,’ a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.
Britain and the Commonwealth realms entered a ten-day period of mourning after the Queen’s death as millions of her subjects in the UK and abroad come to terms with her passing.
Her coffin will be moved to London on the royal train via Edinburgh before she lies in state in Westminster Hall in the Houses of Parliament for four days. Hundreds of thousands of people will be able to pay their respects.
The state funeral is scheduled to take place at Westminster Abbey in central London on Monday, September 19.
It will be attended by her bereft family, as well as 2,000 heads of state, prime ministers, presidents, European royals, and key public figures from around the globe.