Prince William and Prince Harry, accompanied by their wives Catherine and Meghan, made their first public appearances since the Queen’s death, waving to well-wishers outside Windsor Castle. It was also the first time the two couples had been seen together since the highly publicized withdrawal of Lilibet and Archie’s parents from royal life.
The apparition came shortly after the Prince of Wales issued a statement pledging his support for King Charles III“in every possible way” and greeting “our extraordinary queen”. The crowd initially applauded the appearance before members of the royal family read notes and looked at the flowers left at the gates. The Prince and Princess of Wales took one side of the long walk while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex took the other, receiving flowers and shaking hands.
Prince William reportedly told someone in the crowd that the days following his grandmother’s death had been “surrealists”. “We all thought she was invincible”he said, according to Reuters. After around 40 minutes of conversation with members of the public, the two couples then left in the same car, driven by Prince William. A spokesperson for Prince William said he had invited the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to join him and the Princess of Wales.
Travel in different planes
On Saturday September 10, experts explained why royal protocol prohibited William and Harry from traveling separately. Indeed, Prince William and Prince Andrew, accompanied by Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie, took a first plane which took off for Balmoral at 2:39 p.m. Prince Harry, meanwhile, had to make his own way to Scotland, arriving two hours after his grandmother died. According to royal experts, this precaution was taken to avoid a constitutional crisis if the plane had crashed. Traveling the two heirs of the king in different planes prevents them both from dying in the same accident. “The royal assistants have to consider everything, and that was most likely a factor. Although events happened very quickly, they had years to plan for all eventualities. It would have been unwise for William and Harry to fly together”said Brian Hoey, constitutional expert and royal author at The Sun.
See also: Kate Middleton: why did Prince William’s companion send Elizabeth II “walking” for five years?
Adam Javal-Fauconnier