Prince William, Prince Harry and Queen Elizabeth II’s other grandchildren held a vigil for her on Saturday as the royal family prepares to bid farewell to the late monarch at her funeral.
The brothers watched for 15 minutes over the queen’s coffin in Westminster Hall, where her body has been on display since Wednesday.
They were joined by Princess Anne’s sons Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, Prince Andrew’s daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and Lady Louise and Viscount Severn, who are the sons of Prince Edward.
The Earl and Countess of Wessex were present to support their children, as Louise and James are comparatively younger than their cousins, a royal source told CNN .
Harry wore military uniform during the appearance at the request of King Charles III, a royal source told CNN . As a non-working member of the royal family, he appeared at other events in a morning suit.
The grandchildren’s vigil followed a similar appearance by Charles and his brothers on Friday. It takes place two days before the Queen’s state funeral on Monday. The monarch died on September 8 after a 70-year reign, prompting a long period of mourning and various commemorations across the country.
William and Harry put aside longstanding tensions to make joint appearances at some events. A walk by the brothers and their wives Catherine, Princess of Wales and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, in Windsor last weekend was a surprise and was not announced in advance. William invited the Sussexes to see the memorials left for the queen and greet well-wishers, a source told CNN .
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie issued a joint statement on Saturday thanking their “dear grandma” and “beloved queen” and expressing their sadness at her passing.
“We, like many, thought you would stay here forever. And we all miss him so much,” Prince Andrew’s daughters said in a statement released by Buckingham Palace.
“You were our matriarch, our guide, our loving hand at our backs guiding us through this world. You taught us so much and we will treasure those lessons and memories forever. For now, dear grandma, all we want to say is thank you,” Eugenie and Beatrice said. “The world is mourning you and the tributes would really make you smile. They are very truthful about what a remarkable leader you are,” the sisters added.
“We’re so glad you’re back with grandpa. Farewell dear grandma, it was the honor of our lives to have been your granddaughters and we are so proud of you,” the statement read.
Charles and William greet subjects
Earlier on Saturday, King Charles and Prince William greeted the crowd waiting to see the Queen in London.
The royals were seen shaking hands with well-wishers near Lambeth Bridge. Prince William appeared to be in good spirits as he spoke to the crowd and asked several people how long they had been waiting.
Some subjects shouted “hip hip hooray” and “God save the king” as Charles passed.
A woman held up a Paddington Bear toy for Charles; the fictional bear has become associated with the queen since she appeared in a sketch alongside the character during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
People have been lining up for hours to see Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin since she began her stay at Westminster Hall on Wednesday.
The line was approaching full capacity on Saturday, the government said. At lunchtime, the government queue tracker said the current wait time was 14 hours.
Charles III also visited the Metropolitan Police headquarters in London’s Lambeth borough to thank the police and emergency services staff involved in the planning and implementation of events since the late Queen’s death.
The Queen’s funeral on Monday will be the “biggest individual policing event” that London’s Metropolitan Police have ever held, Assistant Deputy Commissioner Stuart Cundy said during a press conference on Friday.
On Sunday, King Charles will hold a reception at Buckingham Palace for “heads of state and official guests from abroad” ahead of the late Queen’s state funeral.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan, received an invitation to this reception by mistake, a source with knowledge of the event said. CNN .
As an official state occasion, the palace said that the king would be accompanied only by working royal family members. The source told CNN that they “imagined” that an administration error had occurred. The couple was not “disinvited” from the reception, as some media outlets reported.
A spokesman for the Sussexes did not comment.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
