Queen goes without stick for ceremony with Welby
THE Queen was pictured standing without the aid of her stick as she was honoured by the Archbishop of Canterbury for her ‘unstinting service’ to the Church of England yesterday.
The 96-year-old monarch, who has pulled out of a number of engagements recently with ongoing mobility issues, was presented with the Canterbury Cross by the Most Rev Justin Welby at Windsor Castle as a ‘heartfelt symbol’ of the church’s ‘love, loyalty and affection’. Given to the Queen – who was wearing a cream dress decorated with pink flowers – in a red box and attached to a blue ribbon, the small, silver cross was specially crafted with platinum inserts in recognition of her milestone 70 years on the throne.
The Queen is Supreme Governor of the Church of England and Defender of the Faith. Elsewhere, Prince Charles led the tributes to his son William on his 40th birthday yesterday with a series of touching images of the pair released on social media (see right).
It is not known if the duke received birthday wishes from his brother Harry.
William found time on his special day to visit Big Issue seller Dave Martin at a Tesco in Hammersmith, west London, and purchase a copy. Earlier this month, he had teamed up with Mr Martin, 60, to sell the paper on the streets of London.