Elizabeth II’s eight grandchildren, including Princes William and Harry, watched over the coffin of the late queen together, whom thousands of Britons followed this Saturday paying an emotional tribute two days after the state funeral.
The children of the new King Carlos III and Diana, who have been considered estranged since 2020, remained with their backs turned and with their eyes lowered, along with their cousins, around the coffin of Elizabeth II, as their parents did the day before in the so-called Vigil of the princes.
The rite lasted about a quarter of an hour, and William and Harry wore their military uniform.
“Goodbye, beloved grandmother. It was an honor to be your granddaughters and we are very proud of it,” the daughters of Prince Andrew, Beatriz and Eugenia, wrote in a message released by Buckingham Palace. “We will all miss you so much.”
Harry wore the military report during the wake, despite the fact that in 2020 he left the royal family with his wife, the former American actress Meghan Markle, to settle in California, starting the estrangement with William.
The breakup was confirmed in 2021 after an explosive interview by Harry and Meghan in which they accused the royal family of racism. Both brothers appeared last week with their wives in Windsor, in an apparent attempt to show a rapprochement.
Elizabeth II died on September 8 at the age of 96 in her Scottish castle of Balmoral after seven decades in power. After the proclamation, two days later, of his son as the new King Charles III, the tributes to the longest-serving British monarch follow one another.
Since Wednesday, thousands of people have been waiting their turn in a kilometric line to give their last goodbye to the only queen that most of them knew until her death, in the burning chapel installed in the almost thousand-year-old room of Westminster Hall.
“It was very emotional. She was like the grandmother of the nation. She will be missed,” said Shaun Mayo, who waited 14 hours to see the queen off. This 27-year-old English computer scientist is one of the 750,000 people expected to pass through.
To thank the patience of the British and the signs of affection, Carlos III and Crown Prince William made an unexpected visit to the entrance queue to the funeral chapel this Saturday, where they shook hands and talked with those present.
