King Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry walk in procession together in a symbol of family unity.
In a moment of symbolic unity, Prince William and Prince Harry walked side by side behind the Queen’s coffin as it left Buckingham Palace.
Along with King Charles and other members of the Royal Family, they were processing to Westminster Hall where the Queen will lie in state.
The sight of the brothers together, walking behind the coffin, will evoke poignant memories of their mother Diana’s funeral 25 years ago.
Crowds clapped the solemn procession.
The Queen’s coffin, carried on a gun carriage, passed below the Buckingham Palace balcony where only three months ago she appeared for the final moments of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Walking on foot behind the coffin were the Queen’s four children, King Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Edward, in military uniform, with Prince Andrew, no longer a working royal, in a morning suit and wearing medals.
And behind them were William, now the Prince of Wales, and Prince Harry. This time they were side by side, unlike Prince Philip’s funeral last year when they had someone walking between them, in what was seen at the time as a sign of separation.
The brothers appearing together will be seen as a visual message of family unity, after so much speculation about tensions and disagreements between them.
Their wives, Catherine and Meghan, and Camilla, the Queen Consort, travelled in a car behind.
William, Harry, Catherine and Meghan had appeared together at the weekend to greet well-wishers in Windsor, tuning into a public mood wanting reconciliation, and bringing back memories of the “fab four” of young royals.
A thundercloud of media interest has hung over claims of a strained brotherly relationship, now conducted from different sides of the Atlantic.
But it’s not clear what the private feelings are for a family whose grief comes with so much public scrutiny.
Catherine is now the new Princess of Wales and the images of the coffin procession will bring back thoughts of another September funeral, when Diana in 1997 was also buried from Westminster Abbey.
Image source, PETER NICHOLLS
William and Harry, as young schoolboys, walked in that funeral procession, with their father King Charles and grandfather Prince Philip. In step at a time when their worlds had been turned upside down.
Today’s procession was another national moment. Crowds held up mobile phones to capture a glimpse of history taking place before them. Big Ben rang out around the streets, tolling each minute. Queen Elizabeth had left Buckingham Palace for the very final time.
Her connections with the palace went back across the eras. She’d been Christened there 96 years ago and there were guests in that family photo who had been alive at the same time as the Duke of Wellington, victor of Waterloo.
The coffin has been covered with the emblems of the monarchy, the Royal Standard and the Imperial State Crown. But there are also personal connections in the flowers in the wreath. Along with white roses and white dahlias there was pine from Balmoral and lavender and rosemary, a symbol of remembrance, from the gardens at Windsor.
Royal aides have described this procession as a significant symbolic turning point in the funeral journey. The Queen has a role as head of her family, but she is also head of state – and here her family were bringing her into the public realm.
The procession is taking her to the heart of political life, through Whitehall, past Downing Street and to the Houses of Parliament.
At Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the Palace of Westminster, there will be a short service conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.
A psalm will be sung as they arrive – “O Lord, thou hast searched me out and known me” – and a reading which will begin “Let not your heart be troubled”.
After the prayers and a final blessing, the service will end, and from 17.00 on Wednesday, the Queen’s lying-in-state will begin, when the public will have their chance to pay respect, until the morning of the funeral on Monday.
The queues have already started and everyone, like the Queen’s family in the procession, will have brought their own memories.
