Queen Elizabeth II travelled to Kensington Palace to pay respects to her beloved sister Margaret on Monday, as the Duke of Edinburgh became the first member of the royal family to resume official engagements since the Princess' death.
Upon the Queen’s arrival at Princess Margaret’s Kensington Palace apartments, she was greeted by the late Princess’ children, Viscount Linley and Lady Sarah Chatto. She briefly spoke with Margaret’s staff, including her private secretary Viscount Ullswater, before she was left alone with the flower-laden coffin in the reception room to say her goodbyes.
Standing by the casket, the Queen spent several minutes in prayer, quietly passing some last moments with her late sister. The monarch then returned to Buckingham Palace, marking the end of a visit one senior Palace aide called “sad and moving”.
Shortly after 6pm, the hearse carrying Princess Margaret’s casket, draped in her personal standard and covered with white lillies and roses, began its journey to the Queen’s Chapel at St James’s Palace. At the request of Lady Sarah, the hearse was preceded by pipers – the Queen’s piper, Pipe Major James Motherwell and a colleague – to reflect her mother’s love of bagpipes.
Upon arrival at St James’s Palace, six pallbearers carried the casket into the Queen’s Chapel where it will remain for three days. The coffin is to be moved to Windsor on Thursday in preparation for Friday’s funeral, which takes place exactly 50 years to the day after the Queen’s father, King George VI was buried.
As the Queen made her sombre journey to say farewell to Margaret, her husband Prince Philip resumed royal engagements. The Duke of Edinburgh travelled to Ely, Cambrideshire, to open a new £280,000 park built to mark the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.
Queen Elizabeth II and the Prince of Wales both plan to return to public life this week. Prince Charles will visit Dublin on Thursday as scheduled, though with a shortened programme to enable him to return on Friday for the funeral. The Queen is expected to visit Whitechapel in east London on Tuesday to reopen a Salvation Army centre for homeless men.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
