Sophie, Countess of Wessex had a sweet exchange with Prince George when she put her arm around the young royal following Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral service at Westminster Abbey.
On Monday 19 September, world leaders and members of the British royal family gathered in Westminster Abbey, where 2,000 mourners attended the funeral service for Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.
Prince George, nine, and Princess Charlotte, seven, were joined by their parents – the Prince and Princess of Wales – as they took part in the procession behind their great-grandmother’s coffin. George was seen wearing a navy blue suit with a black tie, while Charlotte matched with her mother in a pleated black A-line coat.
Following the service, the Queen’s coffin was placed back onto the gun carriage and carried out of Westminster Abbey. From there, the coffin passed Buckingham Palace one last time before making its way to St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle ahead of the burial.
As members of the royal family filed out of Westminster Abbey, Prince George’s great-aunt Sophie, Countess of Wessex laid a reassuring arm on the nine-year-old’s shoulder. Sophie is the 57-year-old wife of Prince Edward and the mother of Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount of Severn.
The two eldest children of the Prince and Princess of Wales were praised for their “immaculate” appearance at Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral on Monday, with many stating they were “so proud” of the children. Their youngest sibling, four-year-old Prince Louis, is not in attendance.
Kate, the Princess of Wales, has shared details on how her three children are coping following the death of their great-grandmother. Speaking with Australia’s governor-general David Hurley at a meeting in Buckingham Palace ahead of the Queen’s funeral, Princess Kate was quoted as saying that Prince Louis has been struggling to understand the death of the late monarch.
“The younger one is now asking questions like: ‘Do you think we can still play these games when we go to Balmoral and things like that, because she’s not going to be there?’” said Hurley.
Meanwhile, Prince George is “now realising how important his great-grandmother was and what is going on,” according to Hurley.
While meeting with mourners outside Windsor Castle last week, Kate revealed the touching comment Louis had made about the Queen’s death. “At least Grannie is with great-grandpa now,” he said, according to The Sunday Times‘ royals editor, Roya Nikkhah.
The siblings began their first week at Lambrook School in Berkshire on Thursday, the same day that their great-grandmother passed. George, Charlotte, and Louis were reportedly “excited” to all be going to the same school for the first time.
