Prince George and Princess Charlotte join service for great-grandfather
The young royals accompanied their parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, to Westminster Abbey on Tuesday.
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Your support makes all the difference.Prince George and Princess Charlotte have made a rare public appearance in honour of their great-grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh.
The eight-year-old future king and his six-year-old sister joined their parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, at the memorial service for Philip in Westminster Abbey on Tuesday.
The occasion gives the youngest generation of royals the chance to remember their much-loved great-grandfather, after they were unable to attend his funeral due to Covid restrictions.
George – who will one day be monarch – and Charlotte’s appearance marks a key moment in their public lives, being the first major televised church service they have attended.
Charlotte, in a black coat, held Kate’s hand, and George, in a suit and tie, held William’s as they entered the Abbey.
Charlotte gave a small smile as her mother, who was wearing a high-necked black dress with white polka dots and a wide-brimmed hat, looked down at her.
The youngsters shook hands with the clergy who bent down to speak to them, with Charlotte giving a large grin.
The pair have appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony for Trooping the Colour, and joined their parents on official tours when younger, but this is the first time they have taken part in an event on this scale.
Westminster Abbey is a focal point for royal celebrations, coronations, commemorations and funerals, and is likely to serve as such for the siblings in the future.
The gothic church in central London is where their parents married, and where William said his final farewell to his mother – who George and Charlotte refer to as “Granny Diana” – when he was 15.
Also there were Peter Phillips’ children, Savannah, 11, and eight-year-old Isla, who were sitting next to their cousin Mia, daughter of Zara and Mike Tindall.
The girls were dressed in navy with their hair fixed back with headbands.
The Queen and Philip had a large brood of great-grandchildren, but a number are still babies.
The couple’s 12 great-grandchildren are Savannah, Isla, George, Mia, Charlotte, Prince Louis, Lena Tindall, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, August Brooksbank, Lucas Tindall, Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor, and Sienna Mapelli Mozzi.
Lili and Sienna were born in the months following Philip’s death.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have remained in the US, where they live with two-year-old Archie and nine-month-old Lili, rather than travelling back for the service.