William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have stepped out together at Windsor Castle this afternoon in an unannounced visit to the royal residence to observe floral tributes left for Queen Elizabeth II and to thank the public for their support.
Huge crowds have been gathering outside the gates to the castle ever since the news of Queen Elizabeth II's death on Thursday, September 8 was confirmed - but people were not expecting to see the royals visit today, and certainly not together. Nevertheless, the crowds seem delighted to see the group - named unofficially by many members of the public and media outlets as the "Fab Four" - in public and pleased to see the royals take the time to read many of their tribute messages left to the Queen outside the castle and to peruse the beautiful floral tributes that have been laid.
Read more: Queen's funeral date officially confirmed
Dressed in black, the Prince, Princess, Duke and Duchess stood together to see the flowers and tributes outside the castle, before pairing off to meet many members of the public standing behind barriers nearby. Crowds cheered and many presented the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, beautiful bouquets of flowers.
Royal experts say seeing the Prince, Princess, Duke and Duchess all together today is a "strong sign of unity" in these sad times and is particularly noteworthy as the The Princess of Wales and Duchess of Sussex did not attend Balmoral when the Queen was taken ill on Thursday. This is the first time the family members have been seen publicly together since the sad news of the Queen's passing and believed to be the first time since March 2020 they've all been seen together publicly. William and Harry were last seen together at the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh in 2021.
The royals' visit comes just moments after the royal family confirmed the date for Queen Elizabeth II's funeral. A statement issued on Saturday afternoon said: "The state funeral of Her Majesty the Queen will take place at Westminster Abbey on Monday 19 September. Prior to the state funeral, the Queen will lie in state in Westminster Hall for four days, to allow the public to pay their respects."
Earlier, the new Prince of Wales, King Charles III's eldest son Prince William, paid tribute to his beloved grandmother and acknowledged that whilst the world lost an "extraordinary leader" when Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday, he "lost a grandmother" at the same time. You can read his full tribute in another article here.
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