QUEEN IS ‘COPING’
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DIVIDE
THE Royals have agreed a rota to visit the Queen ahead of her birthday this week, as she continues to grieve for her beloved husband Philip.
Members of the family will take turns to visit the monarch for walks in Windsor with her two new corgi puppies – except Prince Harry, who is expected to jet back to the US in the next 24 hours.
The Queen, who turns 95 on Wednesday, has insisted she is “coping” after her companion of 73 years was laid to rest on Saturday, but she will be supported by her closest family members during her darkest hour.
She was seen for the first time since Prince Philip’s funeral yesterday, as she left her home at Windsor Castle behind the wheel of a green Jaguar.
Perhaps unsurprisingly it is the females within the family – her daughter Princess Anne, daughtersin-law the Duchess of Cornwall and the Countess of Wessex, supported by the Duchess of Cambridge – who have formed the plan.
Royal sources confirmed the Queen is expected to have a series of regular visitors as she continues to live at Windsor Castle, where she spent the majority of the past 13 months living with Philip.
But grandson Harry, 36, will miss her birthday as he flies back to California to be with heavily pregnant wife Meghan – believed to be due in early June – and their one-year-old son Archie.
Millions of people around the world watched as the monarch was forced to sit alone in St George’s Chapel as she said her final goodbye to her husband on Saturday after the Covid pandemic ravaged longheld plans for the Duke’s funeral.
After her bubble partner had departed, and typically thinking of others before herself, the Queen chose to sit unaccompanied – except from her son Prince Andrew at a two-metre distance to comply with government restrictions.
Her only comfort was a treasured photo of herself and Philip as newlyweds that she had placed in her handbag alongside one of his handkerchiefs.
One source said: “The Queen will not be alone. She will have others who care about her deeply and want to be there to support her in her most pressing hour. In typical fashion, the Queen has insisted she is coping and despite the suggestion she had prepared herself for this day to come, everyone is well aware there is nothing like the experience when it comes.”
Prince Charles is expected to visit his mother this week, taking the 90-minute drive from his country home Highgrove in Gloucestershire.
Princess Anne will also pop in from her home in Gloucestershire, Gatcombe Park, while the Countess of Wessex, who has for years enjoyed an excellent relationship with the Queen, has planned several visits in the coming days with her children Louise, 17, and James, 13.
The Duchess of Cambridge, who returned to London with husband Prince William and their three children last weekend as they go back to school this week after Easter, has already scheduled video calls with the monarch and her great-grandchildren to celebrate her birthday.
The Queen and the rest of the royals do not have any planned engagements until at least Thursday when the official twoweek royal mourning period will
end. The Queen will stay at Windsor Castle for the foreseeable future but well-placed insiders have dismissed the idea she will choose to stay at the Berkshire residence in the long term.
Instead, she intends to split her time between Windsor and London, just as she plans to continue with a diary of royal engagements in and outside the capital when a multi-million-pound renovation project is completed at Buckingham Palace.
However, it may be some time before she can return to the London base even if she wished to, despite making no secret she is “most comfortable” at the 950-year-old royal fortress. The coronavirus crisis has delayed the £369million project that may take years still to complete.
As the Queen prepares to mark her first milestone without the Duke of Edinburgh, who died peacefully aged 99 on April 16 with his wife by his side, senior royals have also agreed to collaborate on special projects to unite the family and the country after a year of pain. The family are understood to have discussed the symbolism of the Duke’s moving music choices throughout his funeral, insisting Action Stations was sounded by a Royal Marines bugler. The naval tradition served as a poignant reminder to his family, plagued by scandal and infighting in recent times, to “go into battle stations”. The Countess of Wessex has been the
Queen’s most frequent visitor throughout the pandemic.
Sophie, 56, is said to be “like a daughter” to the Queen and is keen to help the family in a more central role after Prince Harry and Meghan quit their royal roles to live in the US.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have wasted no time in signing a range of multi-million-dollar deals with streaming giants Netflix and Spotify to create documentaries and podcasts.
A source said: “Everyone is very focused that as the country emerges from the coronavirus crisis it is a great opportunity to work together and help the Queen and get back to business.”