The Queen’s granddaughters unite: Zara Tindall, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie and Lady Louise Windsor honour Her Majesty – after Princess Anne became the first woman to take part in the Vigil of the Princes
- Queen’s four granddaughters came together to honour Her Majesty at the vigil at Westminster Hall tonight
- Zara Tindall, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie and Lady Louise Windsor came together for the ceremony
- Vigil of the Princes traditionally involves male Royal Family members but was observed by Princess Anne
The Queen’s four granddaughters came together to honour their grandmother by standing vigil at Westminster Hall on Saturday night.
Zara Tindall, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie and Lady Louise Windsor followed in the footsteps of Princess Anne by taking part in a ceremony that has been traditionally reserved for male members of the Royal Family.
The cousins, who all wore simple black dresses and hairbands, were joined by Prince William, Prince Harry, Peter Phillips and James, Viscount Severn, for the 15-minute ceremony.
The cousins filed into Westminster Hall in formation, with the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex, dressed in the uniform of the Blues and Royals, leading princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and Lady Louise and James, Viscount Severn, Her Majesty’s two youngest grandchildren. Peter and Zara followed behind.
It comes a week after Princess Anne became the first woman to take part in the Vigil of the Princes, a ceremony that has been held twice before: following the deaths of King George VI, and of the Queen Mother. On both occasions only male descendants took part.
Zara Tindall, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie and Lady Louise Windsor followed in the footsteps of Princess Anne by taking part in a ceremony that has been traditionally reserved for male members of the Royal Family
Zara Tindall, Lady Louise Windsor and Princess Beatrice stood vigil at Westminster Hall on Saturday night
The Duke of Sussex is in the Blues and Royals No.1 Uniform, wearing the KCVO Neck Order and Star, Afghanistan Operational Service Medal, Golden, Diamond and Platinum Jubilee medals and Army Pilot Wings.
Last night, King Charles and his siblings, Princess Anne and Princes Andrew and Edward mounted their touching final vigil for the Queen, before the late-monarch is laid to rest on Monday.
As tearful mourners watched on, the Queen’s four children stood guard of their mother’s coffin for more than 10 minutes at Westminster Hall on Friday evening. The siblings each guarded a side of the coffin, with Charles, dressed in a Navy Admiral uniform, standing at the head.
Queen Elizabeth II ‘s grandchildren (clockwise from front centre) the Prince of Wales, Peter Phillips, James, Viscount Severn, Princess Eugenie, the Duke of Sussex, Princess Beatrice, Lady Louise Windsor and Zara Tindall hold a vigil
Queen Elizabeth’s grandchildren arrived in Westminster just before 6pm where they will hold a 15-minute vigil
Prince William bows his head as he stands beside his grandmother’s coffin in Westminster Hall
The Queen’s four grandchildren stand around her coffin during their own vigil, similar to the one held by their parents on Friday
It was their second, and final, vigil for the beloved monarch. Known as the ‘Vigil of the Children’ – an honor dating back to the time of George V – it mirrors a previous event held earlier this week at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh.
However, unlike the previous vigil in which Charles donned a kilt and Andrew a morning suit, all four siblings were dressed in military colors.
Last week’s first Vigil of the Princes marked the first time the tradition has taken place since 2002.
There have been two such vigils in the past: in 1936, with the death of King George V in 1936, and in 2002, during the Queen Mother’s funeral.
Mourners are continuing to file past the coffin as the royal cousins stand beside their late grandmother’s coffin
The Queen’s grandchildren stand in solemn silence as they mount a vigil for their late grandmother in Westminster Hall
The Prince of Wales stands vigil beside the coffin of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, as it lies in state
That vigil was attended by the royal’s four grandsons – King Charles, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, and the Earl of Snowdon.
The men stood guard over the Queen Mother’s casket in Westminster Hall, as people walked by to pay their respects.
King George V’s vigil in 1936 was attended by his sons King George VI, Henry, Duke of Gloucester and George, Duke of Kent.
The death of George VI was not marked by a Vigil of Princes because he only had daughters, no sons, and no grandsons of an appropriate age.
As no other royal women have attended a vigil, Princess Anne made history last week, as the first.
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