He is a bereaved son, who has lost a mother to whom he was very close. After several days of assuming his new duties as king, Charles III joins part of his family in Edinburgh on Monday for a first official ceremony in homage to Queen Elizabeth II. Very moved, the monarch proved very dignified for a procession between the castle of Holyrood, where the body of the sovereign rested since this Sunday, and the cathedral Saint Giles.
In the midst of his sister and brothers, the eldest son of Elizabeth II had abandoned his black mourning tuxedo for the occasion for his usual military clothes, symbolic for this queen who loved the army so much. And the rest of the siblings had done the same: Princess Anne, just as serious as the day before, when her mother’s coffin arrived in Scotland, had also put on her uniform.
Indeed, the septuagenarian received a military education in the same way as her brothers and had notably marched on horseback during the last Trooping The Color parade, on the occasion of the Jubilee, alongside her older brother. The discreet Prince Edward, youngest of the family, was in the colors of the Marines. In contrast, no question for prince Andrew of York to put on the costume of the Royal Navy. DSince the Epstein case, in which he was accused of sexual assault, he has indeed been stripped of his military titles and therefore no longer has the right to do so. On the other hand, he wore his medals on his tuxedo.
The four children of Queen Elizabeth II very present
This Sunday, when the coffin of Elizabeth II arrived at Holyrood, in addition to Charles who remained in London, we had already been able to see the children of the queen. Princess Anne had indeed made the journey by car, behind the procession which had presented the body of his mother to all Scottish audiences. Accompanied by her husband Timothy Laurence, she had been seen devastated, behind the window of their sedan.
Arriving in Edinburgh, she was able to find her two little brothers there, the disparaged Prince Andrew and the discreet Prince Edward. This one, as always, was with his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, dignified in a very classic black dress. Friendly, she had come out of her reserve to put her hand on the shoulder of her sister-in-law, seeming to comfort her after this trying day.
Princess Anne had surprised the public by performing a perfect bow as his mother’s coffin passed. Her face closed, she was then imitated by her younger siblings, who also saluted with a nod.