The Queen in mourning for her consort after 73 years of marriage
SYMBOLIC of her devastating loss, the Queen sat alone, separated from her family in the age of a pandemic, as she paid a heart-breaking farewell to the man she relied upon above all others.
Seventy three years, four months and 28 days ago, she was a 21-year-old princess in a bridal gown in an abbey, marrying the dashing lieutenant whom she fell in love with at first sight.
Now, the nation’s longest reigning monarch, four days from her 95th birthday, was clad in mourning black, without her loyal consort the Duke of Edinburgh at
her side as she said her last goodbye to him following a lifetime together.
As the Queen first took her seat in the ancient carved wooden stalls of St George’s Chapel, she was entirely alone on the south side of quire, while the other members of her family due to be seated in her row were walking in the procession.
Yet even when they arrived, coronavirus rules dictated the space next to the monarch – usually occupied by Philip – must remain empty, and the one next to it also.
Over an arm’s stretch away was the Queen and the duke’s second son the Duke of York.
Just the Queen’s solemn eyes, her glasses on, were visible, with her face mostly covered with her jet black mask, edged in white.
As the world watched, she bowed her head during the national minute’s silence in honour of her lost loved one.
Grand royal funerals are a rare occurrence, but this, like no other ever witnessed before in the history of the monarchy, was unprecedented in the limitations
placed upon it as the bruised and battered country copes with the worst public health crisis for generations.
A Queen, two future kings and two future queen consorts gathered, in their face coverings like the rest of the limited congregation of just 30 carefully selected
attendees, and were grouped into pairs and households to keep Covid-19 at bay.
With its strong nautical theme, the funeral, each detail
organised at Philip’s own hand, mirrored the duke’s lifelong association with the Royal Navy – buglers, seafaring hymns and the ship’s battle cry Action Stations.
The setting was the breathtakingly beautiful quire of St George’s Chapel, with its carved stalls of the Knights and Ladies of the Garter and magnificent towering fan vaulted stone ceiling and impressive stained glass windows.
Husband and consort, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, and a military man of strong character of who never liked a fuss, the duke’s decades of service to Britain and his commitment to royal duty have been heralded as exemplary.
But the irony would in no way have been lost on Philip that when, as a young Prince of Greece and Denmark,