Together for Granny as Queen Elizabeth II's grandchildren hold emotional vigil (2024)

Hannah Furness Royal Editor

Together for Granny as Queen Elizabeth II's grandchildren hold emotional vigil (1)

The grandchildren of Queen Elizabeth II made history on Saturday night as they walked step by step to honour her memory in a visibly emotional vigil which matched the most formal of royal duties with love.

The eight grandchildren of the Queen chose to pay public tribute in the first vigil of its kind in British history, led by the Prince of Wales with his brother behind him.

With an age range spanning 30 years, the cousins maintained their composure through the most moving of occasions, as members of the public filed past them in tears.

Taking their turn at what has, until now, seemed a formal military occasion, 44-year-old Peter Phillips, Zara Tindall, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Lady Mountbatten-Windsor and Viscount Severn wore the black clothes of mourning to walk in unison.

They had chosen to come together in mutual support to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II, in her dual role as their grandmother and the Queen they shared with the nation.

Meeting an hour beforehand at Buckingham Palace, they appeared to have rehearsed their formation as far as possible with the youngest, 14-year-old Viscount Severn, walking in the middle with his grown-up cousins protectively around him.

Together for Granny as Queen Elizabeth II's grandchildren hold emotional vigil (2)

All eight took their equal positions around the coffin at Westminster Hall, with the Prince of Wales, 40, and Duke of Sussex, 38, both in uniform and symmetrical at either end.

Their family composure was extraordinary, their bond still remarkable.

In the end, a dispute over whether the Duke of Sussex should wear his uniform faded into the background, as he turned out at the request of the King in Blues and Royals No.1 Uniform, with KCVO Neck Order and Star, Afghanistan Operational Service Medal, Golden, Diamond and Platinum Jubilee medals and Army Pilot Wings.

It is the first time the Duke has been permitted to wear uniform since leaving the working family in January 2020, after his father made an exception to allow him to honour the grandmother who was his commander-in-chief during his ten years in the Army.

The Prince of Wales wore his Blues and Royals, No.1 Uniform, Garter Sash and Garter Star, Golden, Diamond and Platinum Jubilee medals and RAF Pilot Wings.

Now leading his generation of the family, the Prince stepped first, marching slowly through Westminster Hall followed by his younger brother and cousins two-by-two; first the York Princesses, then the teenage Wessexes, then the Princess Royal’s children.

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At the knock of a staff from the officer in command of the Vigil Party at 6pm, they walked down the Grand Committee staircase.

As Prince William and Prince Harry, the most used to processions in the public eye, put their military training into practice, their cousins following as civilians with arms straight by their sides and eyes forwards.

They are the first grandchildren of a monarch to undertake such a vigil, with the women wearing high heels and the pearls the late Queen loved to stand with their backs to the catafalque.

Hands clasped in front of them and heads bowed, each appeared lost in their own thoughts.

Prince Harry appeared to be rocking slightly on his heels, a military tactic to ensure soldiers remain upright during long waits, while his cousins relied on the depths of their own resolve to stay composed.

As wellwishers of all ages filtered past, they kept their eyes lowered in a stance of utmost respect they had already seen from their parents, who have completed vigils in Scotland and London in the last week.

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The Earl and Countess of Wessex watched their children from within the hall, Sophie looking visibly upset and worried at the sight of Louise, 18, and James, small in his formal suit, grieving for their grandmother.

Some women in the public line, perhaps mothers or grandmothers themselves, appeared unwilling to watch such an intimate moment for too long, dissolving into their own tears as they paused before the coffin.

Princes William and Harry, for all their recent differences, wore a mirror-image of expression, with tense jaws and reddening eyes as they worked to do their grandmother proud.

The Prince and Duke travelled home in separate cars, William and Mr Phillips riding together and Harry - who had linked arms with Mrs Tindall as they left - in a vehicle behind.

It was only as they left, after 15 minutes and on the signal of an officer, that the most human side of the family was on show: Mrs Tindall, 41, briefly losing her right shoe as she reached the top of the staircase and sharing a smile with Lady Louise.

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Kim Cole, 40, from Colorado queued for 11 and a half hours before finding herself in the hall at the same time as the Royal Family to watch the grandchildren pay tribute.

“It was hard to look at them just because you can feel how emotional they are. It’s very emotional in there," she said.

An hour earlier, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie had issued a deeply personal letter to their "dearest Grannie", thanking the late Queen for their cherished memories from teatimes to picking heather.

The Princesses, writing jointly in tribute to their grandmother, described the "tears and laughter, silences and chatter, hugs and loneliness, and a collective loss for you, our beloved Queen and our beloved Grannie".

Saying they were "so happy" to know she was now reunited with "Grandpa" the Duke of Edinburgh, they addressed her directly to tell her the tributes that had been paid since her death "would really make you smile".

The sisters are particularly close to one another, and have regularly spoken of their love for their late grandparents.

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"Thank you for making us laugh, for including us, for picking heather and raspberries, for marching soldiers, for our teas, for comfort, for joy,” they said.

The Prince of Wales, meeting hundreds of members of the public in the queue for the Westminster Hall lying in state, described how his grandmother “never have believed” the outpouring of love shown to her since her death.

The Prince, who joined his father the King for a surprise walkabout in Lambeth, said seeing the number of people wanting to pay their respects was “quite emotional”.

“She would never have believed all this,” he told wellwishers of his grandmother. “It seems to be uniting everyone and bringing everyone together.”

Saying he hoped people were making “friends for life” while waiting in line, where they have been moving almost constantly for 12 hours at that point, he added: “It means an awful lot that you’re here, it really does.”

The Queen Consort will on Sunday also pay tribute to her late mother-in-law, describing the “unforgettable” smile and “wonderful blue eyes” that “light up her whole face”.

In pre-recorded words to be broadcast on the BBC shortly before the national minute’s silence at 8pm, she said: “It must have been so difficult for her being a solitary woman.

“There weren’t women prime ministers or presidents. She was the only one so I think she carved her own role.”

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On Sunday, the King and Queen Consort will host a State reception at Buckingham Palace for heads of state and foreign royals.

Attended by working members of the Royal Family, therefore excluding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, it will see world leaders gather for drinks and canapes in what has already been described as a reception on a scale unprecedented in living memory.

On Saturday, the family hosted Commonwealth leaders at a reception and lunch, welcoming governors-general to the palace conversation about the late Queen and the organisation she held so dear.

In the evening, heads of state including the US President Joe Biden were due to fly into Britain to pay their personal respects to the late Queen.

A Chinese delegation will now be invited to visit the late Queen's lying-in-state, following on from confusion over their status.

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A parliamentary spokesperson said: "The head of states (or their representatives) who have been invited to attend the state funeral in Westminster Abbey are also invited to attend the lying-in-state in Westminster Hall."

Five prime ministers - Canadian’s Justin Trudeau, Australia leader Anthony Albanese, The Bahamas’ PM Philip Davis, the PM of Jamaica Andrew Holness, and Jacinda Ardern, PM of New Zealand - held audiences with the King on Saturday.

On Sunday, hundreds of thousands more members of the public will file through Westminster Hall for the last day and night of the Queen’s lying in state.

The accessible queue for the ritual closed permanently on Saturday afternoon. Lying in state will end at 6.30am on Monday, the day of the Queen’s funeral, but entry is expected to close hours in advance.

Together for Granny as Queen Elizabeth II's grandchildren hold emotional vigil (2024)

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