Why A Picture Of The Queen At Prince Phillip's Funeral Has Twitter Heartbroken
Queen Elizabeth sat alone at the funeral of her beloved husband Prince Philip due to social distancing restrictions set forth due to the coronavirus pandemic during a religious ceremony at St. George's Chapel.
The sight of the monarch who was married to the Duke of Edinburgh for 73 years, seated alone as she mourned the passing of her husband, broke the hearts of Twitter users, whose hearts felt sympathy for her majesty as she faces ruling the Commonwealth alone for the first time in almost 70 years. She was dressed entirely in black and had her head bowed in prayer throughout the ceremony. She wore a black mask across her face.
"Seeing the Queen sat alone is a deeply upsetting sight, my heart goes out to her, but also to the many thousands of families who've also had to grieve lost loved ones during the pandemic I wouldn't wish that experience on anybody," wrote one Twitter user.
A second Twitter user commented, "What an unbelievably sad image. Never would anyone have imagined The Queen would have had to say her final goodbye to her beloved husband this way."
The Queen continued to set an example even in her grief
The Queen and Prince Philip's son, Prince Charles, sat opposite his mother, alongside his wife Camilla Parker-Bowles. Prince Andrew sat on the Queen's left. Prince William and his wife Kate sat directly opposite from Prince Harry, also seated alone, who attended the funeral without his wife Meghan Markle, who was not allowed to travel as she is in the later stages of her second pregnancy (via Time). They all sat in COVID bubbles with members of their immediate family.
The monarch's COVID bubble was her late husband and their household staff at Windsor, according to Time. Their staff were not present for the somber ceremony.
"She's the queen, she will behave with the extraordinary dignity and extraordinary courage that she always does," said Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury (via TODAY). "And at the same time, she is saying farewell to someone to who she was married for 73 years."
Royal biographer Ingrid Seward said in a statement via Twitter, "Today's funeral of The Duke of Edinburgh was exactly how he wanted it. No fuss, no Pomp and Circumstance. The only thing he wouldn't have wanted was The Queen having to sit alone. Although she would've been happy doing that knowing he was able to have the funeral he wanted."
Prince Philip lived a life of service and devotion
Just 30 mourners were allowed to attend the service at St. George's on the grounds of Windsor Castle where Queen Elizabeth and her late husband lived together throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Other royals who were in attendance at the service sat together in family bubbles (via The Associated Press). Instead of the 800 mourners who were including in Philip's initial plans for his funeral, his wife, the couple's four children including Charles, Andrew, Anne, and Edward, and the couple's eight adult grandchildren mourned the Duke of Edinburgh.
Philip died on April 9th, two months before his milestone 100th birthday. His service was steeped in military and royal tradition and at the same time was infused with the Duke of Edinburgh's personality. The royal procession and funeral took place out of public view on the grounds of the castle. Windsor castle is a 950-year-old royal residence just outside of London. While the public was not allowed to pay their respects in a public way due to the pandemic, they were given an inside look at the proceedings via live television.
During the procession to the funeral, the Queen traveled to the chapel in a Bentley automobile. The couple's children walked behind the specially adapted Land Rover carrying their father's coffin. Philip's grandsons Prince William and Prince Harry also walked behind the coffin, separated by their cousin, Peter Phillips, the son of Princess Anne.
Three relatives from Prince Philip's German side of his family and two of the Queen's cousins including the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra also attended. Queen Elizabeth rode alone in a State Bentley to the church service accompanied by one lady-in-waiting. The couple would have celebrated their 74th wedding anniversary this November. Prince Philip was the longest-serving consort in British history.