By Samantha Jones-
The King and his two sons reunited to walk behind the Queen’s coffin as she left Buckingham Palace for the last time.
The King and his children were joined by the Duke of York, the Princess Royal and the Earl of Wessex, as well as Anne’s son Peter Phillips, her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke of Gloucester and the Earl of Snowdon.
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The King and Queen Consort stood together around a metre apart, with the Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence behind them, then the Duke of York alone, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex in the next row.
Behind them were the Prince and Princess of Wales, with the Duke of Sussex behind William and the Duchess of Sussex directly behind Kate.
Cries of “God save the King” were heard as the King and Queen Consort left Westminster Hall, followed by royal couples leaving side by side
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They appeared solemn as they walked behind the coffin, which was wheeled along The Mall on a gun carriage. Crowds applauded the solemn procession.
The Queen’s coffin, carried on a gun carriage, passed below the Buckingham Palace balcony where only three months ago she appeared for the final moments of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. It was an eery atmosphere, fully charged with heart felt emotion. The collective pain of the people was palpable as crowds of people stretched to catch a proper glimpse of the coffin.
Bandsmen played sombre music to accompany this careful choreography of mourning, Beethoven and Mendelssohn alongside the drumbeat of marching feet were exactly 75 steps per minute.
As the carriages went past there was a loud applause followed by visible dripping tears from many faces crowding along the route. A strong sense of national loss was tangible, sinking deep inside the souls of all present. Queen Elizabeth II was a mother, grandmother, friend to all her family members, and the nation’s darling queen.
Her coffin was covered with the emblems of the monarchy, the Royal Standard and the Imperial State Crow.
Walking on foot behind the coffin were the Queen’s four children, King Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Edward, in military uniform, with Prince Andrew, no longer a working royal, in a morning suit and wearing medals.
And behind them were William, now the Prince of Wales, and Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, also as a non-working royal not wearing military uniform.
A crown was placed on a purple cushion on top of the coffin in front of a wreath made of pine and lavender, featuring white roses, spray white roses and white dahlias.
Crowds of mourners applauded as the Queen’s coffin and the procession moved past them.
William stared straight ahead as he walked directly behind his father, the King, in keeping with his place as the heir to the throne.
The procession left the palace at 2.22pm and arrived at Westminster Image: AP
This was a historic moment, one never to be forgotten in the decades ahead
Only a few days earlier, the queen had met with the new British prime minister, Liz Truss.to endorse her government in the usual conventional way.
A family who has endured so much in the public glare, having to deal with sorrow openly is no easy experience. They still have the funeral to deal with on Monday, which will feature one of the largest gatherings of dignitaries seen for decades.
Over 500 heads of state and foreign dignitaries are expected to attend the funeral on Monday as the world says its final farewell to Britain’s queen.
The majority of leaders have been asked to arrive on commercial flights and told they will be bussed en masse from a site in west London for the ceremony at Westminster Abbey has a capacity for around 2,200 people.
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