The Queen told her friends she had 'no regrets' just five days before she passed away - and was even cracking a few jokes.
Despite appearing frail, the 96-year-old monarch seemed in high spirits in some of her last days, according to Rt Rev Dr Iain Greenshields.
The moderator of the Church of Scotland had spent time with the Queen while staying at Balmoral the weekend before she passed away.
Sharing memories from their final meeting, he told ABC News: "It seemed just astonishing that the woman who had been so vital, so alive, so engaging, should be all of a sudden, dead and away from us.
“She was 96. And you could see her fragility. But as soon as she started talking, a very different kind of person emerged.
"Somebody whose memory was exceptional, somebody who knew everything about you, so she’d done her homework."
Dr Greenshields revealed that she even made a quip about him staying in the Tower Rooms, exclaiming "Your Queen is sending you to the Tower!" with a smile.
In a more heartfelt note, he said the late monarch told him she had "no regrets at all" during a discussion about her strong Christian faith.
The reverend's story is just one of many to suggest the Queen made every effort to remain her active self near the end of her life.
Despite battling mobility issues, she is known to have spent time in the saddle just two months before she died.
Her racing and bloodstock advisor John Warren said that his dear friend rode one of her horses the day before he paid her a visit in July.
He told the Racing Post how she adored getting close up to the animals and was fascinated by them.
Warren was with The Queen making plans for her string of thoroughbreds just days before she died, which include Group 2 Temple Stakes winner King's Lynn.
After a reign of 70 years, Britain’s longest serving monarch passed away peacefully at Balmoral home with her family by her side on September 8.
