- On Monday, the royal family celebrated the life of Queen Elizabeth II with a state funeral at Westminster Abbey, followed by a committal service at Windsor Castle.
- Per a report by Deadline, the ceremony made history as “the biggest audience for a U.K. TV broadcast,” with 37.5 million British viewers.
- Ahead of the monarch’s funeral, the palace released the queen’s last official portrait, which was taken earlier this summer during her Platinum Jubilee.
Royal News Roundup: Queen Elizabeth’s Funeral, King Charles’s Special Note & More
Published Sep 23, 2022
•6:53pm
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
Here’s all the royal news you need to know for the week of September 23, 2022.
- During the procession, Prince William and Kate Middleton’s oldest children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, were photographed with their aunt Meghan Markle, who came to honor the late monarch in person.
- Prince Louis was noticeably missing from the funeral. As Hello! magazine pointed out, it is likely that Prince Louis is too young, so the service would've been a difficult event for the toddler to sit through.
- If you noticed that Prince Harry didn’t salute, you should know he gave up his military titles when he stepped down as a senior royal and, therefore, isn’t allowed.
- However, King Charles made an exception for the vigil and let Prince Harry wear his Blues and Royals uniform.
- King Charles left a heartwarming note for his mother on top of her coffin. The handwritten message read, “In loving and devoted memory, Charles R.”
- According to Hello! magazine, the Prince and Princess of Wales also wrote messages for the queen and placed them on the coffin.
- Middleton and Markle arrived in separate cars, but there’s a totally undramatic reason. As Page Six points out, Markle wasn’t allowed to ride in the same vehicle as Middleton because the Princess of Wales’s new ranking enabled her to sit alongside the Queen Consort, Camilla Parker Bowles.
- During the committal service at St. George’s Chapel, Princess Charlotte shared a sweet moment with her uncle, Prince Harry. At one point, the young royal adjusted her hat and then glanced at her uncle, and he responded with a comforting smile.
- Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie released a joint heartfelt tribute in honor of their “dearest Grannie.”
- Markle’s outfit featured various subtle nods to the queen. For example, she wore a pair of pearl-drop earrings that were a gift from Her Majesty.
- Middleton wore a brooch that belonged to the monarch, in addition to a pair of earrings that were previously worn by her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana.
- Princess Charlotte’s horseshoe brooch also held special meaning because it was a gift from Queen Elizabeth.
- Shortly after the ceremony, the Prince and Princess of Wales paid tribute to the queen on their joint Twitter account. The caption read, “Goodbye to a Queen, a mother, a grandmother and a great grandmother.”
- The royal account posted a black-and-white photograph on Instagram that was taken back in 1947. In the snapshot, young Princess Elizabeth is standing beside her mother, father, sister and her husband-to-be, Prince Philip.
- Once the funeral had concluded, Prince Harry and Markle traveled back across the pond to reunite with their two young children: Archie and Lilibet.
- Out of respect for the late monarch, Netflix paused—and then resumed—production on The Crown.
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