Eyes of world on Duchess as she attends first televised funeral
THE DUCHESS of Cambridge will be attending her first televised Royal funeral as the Duke of Edinburgh is laid to rest.
Kate is just days away from passing her first decade as a member of the Royal Family, with her 10th wedding anniversary to the Duke of Cambridge on April 29.
But the Duchess has yet to experience the challenge of grieving for a family member with the world watching.
The Royal Family is not known for its demonstrative displays of emotion while on a public stage.
William’s former university flatmate turned future Queen adapted to her Royal role with ease after her wedding and has attended many solemn memorials and commemorations, including Remembrance Sunday events and a service to mark the end of combat operations in Afghanistan.
The Duchess, 39, will be able to sit with William to support him,
in keeping with Covid-19 regulations, because they are from the same household.
But the proceedings will be a Royal funeral like no other for all those attending – with Windsors from different households having to sit two metres apart as they socially distance, including the Queen who will sit alone, with all guests wearing face masks and forbidden from singing under coronavirus rules.
Taking part in the procession in the grounds will bring back some memories of the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales for William, who was just 15 when he walked behind his mother’s coffin through central London after her death in a car crash in 1997.
He also processed behind the Queen Mother’s cortege in 2002.
William has spoken of the kindness his grandfather Philip showed to Kate.
“I will always be grateful that my wife had so many years to get to know my grandfather and for the kindness he showed her,” he said in tribute.
The couple’s young children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will not be at the funeral, with guests limited to just 30 because of the pandemic.
A number of Royal newcomers will be at the service. Jack Brooksbank, Princess Eugenie’s husband, officially joined the family in 2018, while Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, Princess Beatrice’s husband, married the princess last summer.