Princess of Wales reveals her son Louis, four, is struggling to understand the Queen’s death

The Princess of Wales has revealed how her sons are coping with the death of their great-grandmother the Queen.

At a reception for Commonwealth dignitaries ahead of the Queen’s funeral, Kate spoke to the Governor-General of Australia today, explaining that four-year-old Louis is questioning and struggling to understand.

David Hurley recalled his conversation with Kate and said she revealed that her eldest son Prince George, nine, “now kind of realizes how important his great-grandmother was and what’s going on.”

But four-year-old Louis wonders if the family’s summer visit to Balmoral Castle will still be as he remembers it.

“The youngster is now asking questions like, ‘Do you think we can still play these games when we go to Balmoral’ and things like that because she won’t be there?” said Mr Hurley.

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Prince George and Princess Charlotte will appear as a surprise at their great-grandmother’s funeral today, walking behind her coffin into Westminster Abbey.

The Daily Mail understands that the Prince and Princess of Wales have thought ‘long and hard’ about whether their two eldest children, aged nine and seven, would join them.

But after George and Charlotte attended their great-grandfather’s memorial service in March, William and Kate decided they could handle the solemnity of the occasion. Louis, the youngest of the bunch, is only four and is not coming.

“As parents, of course, they have thought long and hard about whether their children should come along,” said a source. “Of course little Louis is too young, but they think George and Charlotte can handle it.”

Obviously the children will also be in the congregation this afternoon for the funeral service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor. It must be decided whether they want to venture there as well.

George and Charlotte will travel by car to the Abbey with Kate and Camilla, before joining the procession as it enters.

For today’s state funeral service at 11 a.m., a bell will chime 96 times, reflecting the years of Queen Elizabeth’s life. The service will pay tribute to the Queen’s remarkable reign and lifelong service as head of state, nation and Commonwealth, Buckingham Palace said last night.

It will be led by The Very Reverend Dr. David Hoyle, Dean of Westminster, with hymns like The Lord’s My Shepherd and Love Divine. Lessons include 1 Corinthians 15 20-26, 53-end and John 14 1-9a, with all aspects personally chosen by the Queen.

A specially commissioned choral piece, Like As The Hart, composed by the Master of The King’s Music, Judith Weir, will be sung by the Westminster Abbey Choir. The choir also sings a short anthem, O Taste And See, composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams for the Queen’s coronation in 1953.

The Archbishop of Canterbury will deliver a lecture, while Prime Minister Liz Truss will read the second lesson, featuring prayers from leading clergy, including the Bishop of London and the Archbishop of York.

Tears are sure to flow at The Last Post and Reveille, as well as at the first major public rendition of the National Anthem.

A rendition of Sleep, Dearie, Sleep played by the Queen’s bagpiper will be of great significance to her family.

After the service, the bells of Westminster Abbey will be rung completely muffled, as is the tradition after the Sovereign’s funeral. The coffin continues on its final journey through London and to Windsor. The funeral service at St. George’s Chapel at 4:00 PM will be smaller and much more personal.

And in the absence of cameras, the royal family will gather at 7:30 p.m. for a private funeral.