Prince Edward and his wife Sophie were greeted with cheers as they came to meet mourners outside Buckingham Palace - and the Earl of Wessex explained he was trying not to shake hands in order to meet more people.
While the Countess of Wessex shook hands with people and accepted several bunches of flowers, the Queen’s youngest son could be heard explaining to a well-wisher that he was simply trying to ensure he didn't fall behind as he attempted to speak to as many people as possible. As he quizzed the crowd on where they they had travelled from, he politely waved as he walked past the mourners on Saturday afternoon.
He later shook a mourners hand, before explaining: "I've been trying to avoid it, only if I do it once, then I get everybody doing it.' The Queen’s youngest son asked many of the crowd members if they were planning to make their way to Green Park to lay flowers, where thousands of bunches had been left.
