When the King led the Vigil of the Princes for his ‘darling mama’: How Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward stood guard around Queen Elizabeth’s coffin in Westminster Hall two years ago today
It was one of the most moving moments in the days following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Today, two years ago, King Charles solemnly led his brothers and sisters into Westminster Hall to perform the ‘Vigil of the Princes’.
Charles and Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward stood in stoic silence around their late mother’s coffin for ten minutes as her body was laid out.
Four days earlier, they had performed the same ritual at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, where Queen Elizabeth’s coffin initially lay after her death on September 8.
The tribute dates back to the death of King George V in 1936, when the monarch’s four children stood guard around his coffin.
The day after Charles’s tribute, the Queen’s eight grandchildren, along with his siblings, held their own vigil, including the embattled Prince William and Prince Harry.
King Charles III and his siblings hold a wake for his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth
Charles leads his siblings, Princess Margaret, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, into Westminster Hall on September 16, 2022
Prince William leads the Queen’s eight grandchildren to the vigil on September 17, 2022
Charles wore a naval admiral’s uniform, Anne wore a colonel’s uniform of the Blues and Royals, and Edward wore a royal honorary colonel’s uniform of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry.
Unlike the previous wake, at which Andrew wore a tailcoat, the disowned Duke of York (who lost his Armed Forces patronage in early 2022) wore the full uniform of a Royal Navy vice-admiral.
He was given special permission to wear the military uniform as a ‘final sign of respect’ for his mother.
The Queen’s coffin had been lying in state since September 14, after being brought from Scotland.
Charles stood at the head of the coffin, while Edward and Anne – the first female royal to stand guard – guarded the sides and Andrew stood at the foot.
The siblings then stepped forward, turned around and stood guard with their heads bowed for about 10 minutes.
Charles wears a Navy admiral’s uniform, while his siblings follow him, also in military uniform
Prince William stands at one end of the coffin, while the other grandchildren stand to the sides and Harry at the other end
Prince Harry, who wears a military uniform for the first time as a non-working royal, follows his brother
Meanwhile, people continued to walk past the coffin.
The following evening, Prince William led Prince Harry, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Zara Tindall, Peter Phillips, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn, in a final royal wake.
On September 17 at 6:00 p.m., they walked down the stairs one by one and took their places around the coffin.
They were all dressed in black, with Prince William and Harry wearing military uniforms.
Previously, Harry was not allowed to wear his uniform at the public funeral because he is not a working royal. However, sources say the king has decided that his youngest son will be allowed to wear military-style clothing at the wake.
Both he and William wore Blues and Royals uniform, with the Duke also wearing the KCVO Neck Order and Star, the Afghanistan Operational Service Medal, the Golden, Diamond and Platinum Jubilee Medals and the Army Pilot Wings.
The eight grandchildren stood guard for 15 minutes, heads bowed
Prince Harry, Princess Eugenie and James, Viscount Severn pay their respects to their grandmother
Prince William wore the Garter Sash, the Garter Star, the Golden, Diamond and Platinum Jubilee medals and the RAF Pilot Wings.
The audience watched and the only sound was the sound of the grandchildren’s footsteps on the stone.
Prince William stood on one side of the coffin and Prince Harry on the other. The other grandchildren took their places to the side.
All eight bowed their heads in respect, as the relatives continued to walk calmly around the room.
The then Earl and Countess of Wessex also looked on as the grandchildren kept watch.
At 6.15pm, three knocks rang out and the grandchildren ended their wake. They left in unison, led by Prince William.
The then Earl and Countess of Wessex look on as the grandchildren keep watch
Prince Harry stands at the end of his late grandmother’s coffin
The Queen lay in state until the morning of September 19, and hundreds of thousands of mourners queued throughout the night to pay their respects to the late monarch.
At its peak, the queue was around 10 miles long, of which 7 miles was between Westminster and Southwark, plus a zigzagging queue of over 3 miles in Southwark Park.
Both Britons and foreigners joined the long, slow procession through central London to enter the ceremonial hall in freezing temperatures.
David Beckham, who queued for 14 hours to pay his respects, was among the celebrities who joined the queue.
Also present was a 96-year-old war veteran who saw the Queen’s grandfather, George V, laid out in state in 1936.