Queen’s funeral: Kate Middleton cuts a sombre figure as she arrives at Westminster Abbey

The Princess of Wales looked stunning when she arrived for the Queen’s funeral with her children Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

Kate, 40, opted for an elegant black ensemble as she joined senior members of the royal family to pay their respects to the Queen at Westminster Abbey.

As a touching tribute to the Queen, the Princess chose to wear a three-strand pearl necklace that was part of Her Majesty’s personal jewelry collection. She completed the look with a pair of Princess Diana’s diamond and pearl earrings.

The royal mother of two arrived hand in hand at Westminster Abbey with her daughter Princess Charlotte, seven, who walks behind their great-grandmother’s coffin with her brother.

It was announced that Prince George, nine, and Princess Charlotte, seven, will join their parents at the funeral to say goodbye to their beloved Gan Gan.

The couple is said to have bought the second in line after senior palace advisers considered letting him attend the state funeral because of the powerful symbolic message it conveys.

At the tender age of nine, and having just overcome the daunting prospect of starting a new school, George is now second in line to the throne.

With this in mind, aides have suggested it would be good for the public to see the young prince — whom the queen affectionately called “Gan Gan” — and is the future of the monarchy.

It comes after they showed up at the funeral of Prince Philip, their great-grandfather last year, and gives them the chance to say goodbye to Her Majesty, whom they affectionately called ‘Gan Gan’.

It is the first time any of the Welsh children has been seen in public since her death.

It has been an extremely busy period for Kate, who has publicly supported her husband, Prince William, and undoubtedly helped her children adjust to life without their Gan-Gan.

The death of their great-grandmother the Queen will be a heavy blow to Prince George, nine, Princess Charlotte, seven, and four-year-old Prince Louis, as they and their parents begin a new life in Adelaide Cottage on the grounds of Windsor Castle – where Her Majesty spent most of the year.

Two of the late Queen’s other great-grandchildren, Mia and Lena Tindall, were at Westminster Hall in front of her daybed on Friday. They were in the gallery with their parents Zara and Mike Tindall as their grandmother, Princess Anne, took her place beside her three brothers for a silent vigil next to the Queen’s coffin.

Kate and the Queen had a special relationship, often seen together in public, with the Princess of Wales who impressed the monarch for her “down-to-earth demeanor.”

In May, Princess Diana’s biographer Andrew Morton said the Queen spent time nurturing the relationship between the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge after she “made mistakes with Charles and Diana.”

“The thing about Kate is that the Queen was impressed that she adored and loved William for herself, not for his title.”

She spends much more time supporting and nurturing the relationship between William and Catherine than Charles and Diana. It’s pretty clear she wouldn’t make that mistake again.

‘Everything that happened in’ [Kate and William’s] relationship was quite strategic, quite thoughtful, over time.

He added: “In the beginning, no one in the royal household expected for a second that the university romance with Catherine and William would continue long after graduation, like most college novels that fall apart under the intense scrutiny of jobs and geography. ‘

Hundreds of thousands of Britons have lined up this week to see the Queen in state as the official mourning period ends today.

Well-wishers waited up to 30 hours to pay tribute as people from around the world expressed their condolences to the longest-running head of state.

Dignitaries from the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand and Canada, will mourn alongside the Firm today, as will monarchs from across Europe and the world.

The Queen’s state funeral will end today with a two-minute national silence as a “appropriate tribute to an extraordinary reign” before she is buried next to her late husband.

Police also received a no-fly zone order over London today, following 10 days of mourning.

In addition to thousands of uniformed Metropolitan Police forces springing into action, plainclothes officers will also mingle with the crowd to keep an eye out for any threats.

It is expected that other troops will be asked to supply officers under ‘mutual aid’.

The Queen’s Coffin was carried from Westminster Hall to the State Gun Carriage today and then placed outside the North Door of the building.

The procession then went from New Palace Yard through Parliament Square, Broad Sanctuary and the Sanctuary before arriving at Westminster Abbey just before 11am.

After the state funeral ends around noon, the coffin is placed on the state gun carriage outside the abbey.

At 12:15 PM the procession leaves for Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner.

The route goes from the Abbey via Broad Sanctuary, Parliament Square (south and east sides), Parliament Street, Whitehall, Horse Guards including Horse Guards Arch, Horse Guards Road, The Mall, Queen’s Gardens (south and west sides), Constitution Hill and Apsley Way

At Wellington Arch, the Queen’s casket will be transferred from the State Gun Carriage to the State Hearse just after 1:00 PM, prior to the journey to Windsor.

It then travels from central London to Windsor, on a route not disclosed by the palace. When the hearse arrives in Windsor, the procession begins just after 3pm at Shaw Farm Gate on Albert Road.

The state hearse will join the procession, which will be formed and in position, at Shaw Farm Gate before traveling to St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

The procession follows the route of Albert Road, Long Walk, Cambridge Gate, Cambridge Drive, George IV Gate, Quadrangle (south and west sides), Engine Court, Norman Arch, Chapel Hill, Parade Ground and Horseshoe Cloister Arch.

Just before 4pm, the procession stops at the foot of the West Steps of St George’s Chapel in Horseshoe Cloister. Here the bearer carries the coffin in procession up the steps to the chapel.

The Queen will be buried at 7:30 p.m. in a private funeral at the King George VI Memorial Chapel in St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.