The four grandsons of the Queen Mother paid her the most personal of tributes on Monday, standing in stock-still silence for a 20-minute display of respect as hundreds of members of the public filed past. Watched from the sidelines by the Queen Mother’s great-grandsons Prince William and Harry, the grandsons stood with their hands clasped and heads bowed in a solemn vigil to mark the individual relationship each shared with their grandmother.
The four looked dignified and deeply reflective as they emerged from a side door and descended a stone staircase to the floor of the hall and slow marched around the catafalque, before taking up their places behind four green uniformed members of the Royal Company of Archers. The Prince of Wales and the Duke of York, in naval uniform, stood at the western corners of the Queen Mother’s flag-draped coffin, while Viscount Linley and the Earl of Wessex, bare-headed and in morning coats, stood at the eastern end.
The vigil beneath the medieval oak arches of Westminster Hall was reminiscent of the vigil for King George V on January 27, 1936, when his four sons took their places at each corner of his catafalque.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Prince Charles looked solemn, dignified and deeply reflective as he stood, dressed in the uniform of a Rear Admiral, at the western corner of the Queen Mother's catafalque
Photo: © Alphapress.com
The Queen Mother's grandsons pay a silent 20-minute to the royal matriarch, standing at the four corners of her flag-draped coffin. The ceremony was reminiscent of the the vigil for King George V on January 27, 1936, when his four sons took their places at each corner of his catafalque REUTERS/Mark Runnacles
