Prince Harry was seen wiping away tears as Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin arrived at Westminster Hall after an emotional procession from Buckingham Palace.
The Duke of Sussex appeared emotional during the Queen’s procession to Westminster Hall at the House of Parliament, where her coffin will lie in state until her funeral on Monday.
On Wednesday, the 37-year-old royal received his late grandmother’s coffin at Buckingham Palace alongside King Charles III, William, Prince of Wales, and other senior royals. Prince Harry walked beside both his father and brother as they followed the coffin on foot to the Palace of Westminster. Meanwhile, Kate, Princess of Wales and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex travelled in separate cars to join royal mourners at Westminster Hall.
Upon the coffin’s arrival, the royal family gathered in the Hall where the Archbishop of Canterbury conducted a short service remembering the Queen. During the service, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were seen standing behind the Prince and Princess of Wales.
An image of Harry, wiping away a tear from his eye as he paid his respects to the Queen, has already gone viral online as people share their sympathies for the prince.
“My heart breaks for H. Losing one of the main women in his life is so hard,” one person tweeted in response to the photo.
“My heart hurts for him,” another user agreed.
One Twitter user wrote, “This got me,” while another person tweeted: “I was doing ok until this photo”.
The image of Prince Harry wiping away his tears also elicited comparisons to another heartbreaking funeral the royal once attended – for his mother Diana, the Princess of Wales. The young royal was only 12 years old when his mother was killed in 1997 from a car crash in Paris, France.
Much like the Queen’s procession on Wednesday, Prince Harry and Prince William also stood beside each other as their mother’s coffin journeyed through the streets of London almost exactly 25 years ago.
The similarities between the two processions were not lost on social media users, who tweeted their thoughts on the eerie comparison. “No doubt this walk will be extremely difficult for Harry, when 25 years ago he was walking this route behind the coffin of his mother,” one person wrote. “I’m glad he has Meghan by his side to support him through this, because 12 year old Prince Harry never had that type of support system”.
“Whatever you think of Prince William and Harry, this procession must have brought back so many sad memories of their mother, Princess Diana’s funeral,” another person agreed.
One person shared: “An emotional day for Prince Harry 25 years after he walked in a similar procession for his mother Princess Diana. Diana died at age 36. Harry celebrates his 38th birthday tomorrow, September 15.”
Thousands of mourners are expected to pay their respects to the Queen before her funeral on Monday. Her coffin arrived at Buckingham Palace from St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland on Tuesday.
Members of the public have already flocked to London, where they join a possibly 35-hour queue to view the Queen’s coffin lying in state at Westminster Hall. However, it has been confirmed that new entrants could be paused from viewing the Queen if the queue reaches ten miles long.
