The September sun shined down on William and Harry as they walked side by side behind the coffin of their grandmother, just as it did 25 years and 8 days before. However, everything else was unique.
A quarter of a century before, their brotherly relationships of shared tragedy looked impenetrable as they were brothers bonded in grief after the unexpected death of their mother.
Yesterday, all that was left was their shared sadness at the Queen’s departure. Rarely has the distance between two princes, who were once so close, seemed to be so great.
When their cousin, Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips, stepped between them during the goodbye for Prince Philip the previous year, there was no human barrier to keep them apart.
They were merely boys at their mother’s burial, unable to even raise their heads off the ground. Yesterday, William’s eyes were covered by the peaked cap of his RAF No. 1 uniform, while Harry’s were hatless in his mourning attire.
Both people conducted themselves in a dignified and respectful manner, disregarding the onlookers who wanted to see some little evidence of amity, an exchange of brotherly love, or even a spark of forgiveness.
There wasn’t any.
Of course, such a gesture could be inappropriate given the gravity of the event. Princess Diana’s cortege suddenly vanished behind Horse Guards Arch and then reappeared on Whitehall twenty-five years ago.
Then William’s granddad gave him a comforting pat. Only Harry and William’s footsteps continued to be in lockstep since there was no such respite from the formality of it all this time.
However, if ever there was a chance for this most sad of rifts to be repaired, this was it.
There was no hiding the chilly relationship that currently exists between the brothers, who formerly held the long-term destiny of the Royal Family in their hands, when Harry and Meghan visited William and Kate to inspect the flowers and meet well-wishers at Windsor Castle four days ago.
The four of them had previously been a natural and spontaneous group, but now they were unsure and uneasy. However, at least they were a unit.
Harry was being handed an olive branch, but would he take it?
Harry arrived after a lengthy journey from California but missed the national outpouring of grief and sorrow when Prince Philip passed away since he was a latecomer. After making unsuccessful attempts to make amends with his brother, he eventually returned home to Meghan, who was at the time expecting his children Lilibet and Archie.
This time, there was no need for a last-minute transatlantic travel since he was already in the country when the Queen passed away last Thursday.
It meant he was there for the unprecedented national outpouring of sadness and loss that engulfed the nation from the start.
The Mall yesterday, where he stood in calm contemplation behind his father, the King, was the ideal place to begin if he ever chose to reevaluate the choices he has made.
How simple it would have been to relegate the Prince and his wife, who were hidden away during the Platinum Jubilee festivities as a mere support act, to some insignificant position. On that particular day, it was quite evident that they were lesser royals sitting next to the Queen’s relatives in the back seats of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
And wouldn’t they only have had themselves to blame if the same thing had occurred this week? Their petty complaints, which are often callous, have persisted from their Montecito house. Harry’s narrative about settling scores still hangs over everything, however.
However, King Charles and even Prince William have shown generosity. Harry has been placed at the centre of events rather than being left out. He played a rather obvious part yesterday. He received every privilege that came with being the King’s son, in fact. Alongside his brother, and behind his father, he was standing where he belonged.
He and the Duchess of Sussex stood up behind William and Kate in Westminster Hall’s order of succession to pay their respects to the Queen’s casket.
As for Meghan, she also received the deference that befits a daughter-in-law of a king.
While Harry and his brother strolled, his wife and Harry’s aunt Sophie, Countess of Wessex, rode in a royal limousine. She trailed the Queen Consort and Kate, the new Princess of Wales, in the line of royal automobiles.
These are more than only symbolic actions in the intricate realm of monarchy. In this situation, Harry was being shown where he should sit in the House of Windsor in the event that he ever wanted to return and continue living a royal life.
It is evident that he is not being treated as the royals previously did with a once beloved figure who chose exile over duty, at least not yet. After the abdication, King Edward VIII and his wife Wallis, who was never given the HRH title, were never completely accepted in Britain.
Harry, do you realise that? Can he even distinguish between them? Even he must see how important he is to his father, the retired King, and his brother as he looks over the now-dwindling lines of frontline royals.
Will Harry take advantage of the situation?
But there is still another element. How crucial will Harry and Meghan’s prominent involvement this week be in America, where the Sussexes’ notoriety has unquestionably been declining? How much of a revitalization did it provide their ailing brand?
Of course, the brand will have changed as a result of their proximity to a momentous occasion that has riveted the whole globe. With front-row seats to important historical events, they have further cemented their position as outsiders.
Harry is reportedly home sick and misses his pals, his former Army comrades, and even the English countryside, according to rumours that have been circulating from California for months. Some of his oldest acquaintances regularly inquire, “What does he do all day?”
It is only fair to state that he enjoys a calm and really happy home life with Meghan and their kids.
It would also be erroneous to dismiss the fact that he is here out of his love and devotion for the Queen and that he has been really upset.
That was shown by his heartfelt comment about her “unwavering elegance and dignity.”
However, opportunities seldom come knocking more than once for members of the Royal Family. He has received more than just a peek of the world he left behind thanks to his father and brother, who together have provided him a path back.
Charles and William are being pragmatic because they need him. The Royal Family has slimmed down, which is great, but in only two years, much of its firepower has been gone due to Andrew’s scandal, Harry and Meghan’s absence, and now the Queen.
The Gloucesters and Kents, two royal cousins who performed a lot of the unsung hard work, are expected to retire soon. Not fewer, but more working royals will be required.
Any move toward a renewed royal engagement would be a huge sacrifice for Harry. Can he, for instance, stop his wife from making pointless, self-centered comments about how poorly the royals treated them and cancel the book?
William would also have to make concessions, and he won’t find it simple to forgive. ‘You can apologize, but you can’t unsay things you have said, and Harry and Meghan have said an awful lot, most of it extremely cruel,’ as one royal acquaintance put it to me.
What would happen to Meghan if there was some kind of reunion and Harry was willing to move back in?
Could they come up with a new royal paradigm that would let Harry return to “The Firm” while giving his wife a semi-detached position?
It is possible. This kind of position gradually evolved for Princess Diana, who supported Charles at official functions even after their divorce but took her own course in terms of responsibilities.
Of course, Diana did not commercialise her life in the same way that Meghan and Harry have.
Tragically, it is because of this reason that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s arrival has sparked so many hopeful indicators that not even the most upbeat courtiers really think they can turn things around.
Naturally, they’ll return for Charles’s coronation, but what happens after that?
The couple’s failure to see the opportunities that were offered to them this week might end up being their worst mistake yet in the coming years.
Days after they reunited to greet mourners in Windsor, William and Kate stand behind Harry and Meghan as they attend the state funeral at Westminster Hall.
For MailOnline, Martin Robinson, Mark Duell, and Rory Tingle
On Wednesday, William and Harry stood beside their spouses Kate and Meghan, putting their acrimonious spat aside to pay respect to the Queen as she lay in state inside Westminster Hall.
The Countess of Wessex and Camilla, the Queen Consort, travelled in separate vehicles with Meghan and Kate, while the brothers walked side by side for the emotional 38-minute procession from Buckingham Palace.
The ‘Fab Four’ stood in formation during the service facing the coffin on its purple-covered catafalque, which was flanked by a tall, yellow flickering candle at each corner of the wide scarlet platform in the centre of Westminster Hall, which served as the setting for some of the most well-known events in British history.
The Sussex family took a back row position behind the other royals, with Harry standing behind William and Meghan behind Kate. The heartwarming scene is the first time the spouses have been seen together since their unexpected walkabout at Windsor Castle on Saturday.
The Westminster Abbey and His Majesty’s Chapel Royal choirs played Psalm 139 as the Queen’s casket was carried into Westminster Hall. Charles, William, and Anne gave the Queen a salute as she arrived. Harry and Prince Andrew, who were not allowed to wear military garb, bowed in place.
The King led the royals in chanting the opening prayer when the Archbishop of Canterbury finished reading it.
The little ceremony that the late queen had organised with the Church of England before she passed away at age 96 was attended by the family in silence.
Cries of “God save the King” could be heard as the King and the Queen Consort exited Westminster Hall when Big Ben sounded at 3.30 p.m. after the congregation had been dismissed. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex departed the building hand in hand, as the Princess of Wales comforted her husband by stroking his arm.
An estimated 1 million people are anticipated to wait in line for up to 30 hours to pay their respects to Britain’s longest-reigning queen beginning at 5 o’clock on Sunday. Her state funeral will take place on Monday.
The procession passed the King George VI and Queen Mother monument, which looks out over The Mall, with sadness. The audience held their phones up to take pictures as the Queen walked back to Buckingham Palace while wearing the Imperial State Crown, which gleamed in the sunlight.
The coffin was carried into the Houses of Parliament by the Carriage Gates entry after a 38-minute trip to the birthplace of British democracy. It then travelled through New Palace Yard, which has a fountain in honour of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in the middle.
During the 20-minute ceremony conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the King and the Queen Consort led the Royal Family into Westminster Hall, with William and Kate standing in front of Harry and Meghan.
Even though there were hundreds of thousands of people lining the path, there was silence as the casket approached. The late queen departed her London residence for the last time to some quiet applause, clapping, God Save the Queen screams, and many tears. By 1 pm, every viewing spot on The Mall, Whitehall, and Parliament Square was occupied, and people were being turned away.
For the parade to the laying in state, the Queen’s casket was decked with the Royal Standard, the sparkling, valuable Imperial State Crown on a purple velvet cushion, and a wreath of white flowers. The greenery included pine from the grounds at Balmoral and pittosporum, lavender, and rosemary from the gardens at Windsor. The flowers included white roses, spray white roses, white dahlias, and white roses.
At 2.22 p.m., the procession departed from the palace, and it is scheduled to reach Westminster Hall at 3 p.m. The Dean of Westminster and the Archbishop of Canterbury will preside over a roughly 20-minute liturgy.
As the coffin travelled the 1.2 miles to Westminster Hall, the historic centre of the Houses of Parliament, up to 1 million Britons hoped to see the Queen lie in state there as her father and mother did in 1952 and 2002. Princess Anne, who has been with her mother since she passed away last Thursday, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward also accompanied the coffin on the journey.
The Princess of Wales, the Duchess of Sussex, the Countess of Wessex, and the Queen Consort Camilla drove in a car-following formation. both Mike Tindall and Zara. Along with Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank, Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi are also participating. However, Sarah Ferguson, Andrew’s ex-wife, was not invited due of their divorce.
The event is significant historically because brothers Prince William and Prince Harry put their continuing rivalry aside to support their father by following him behind the coffin. William and Harry will be reminded painfully of the day they, then 15 and 12, respectively, walked behind Princess Diana’s casket in 1997.
The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery’s Gun Carriage, which was touchingly utilised for the late Queen’s mother and father’s coffins, carried the body of the late monarch.
The King’s funeral for the Queen Mother in 2002 was conducted using the George Gun Carriage, which was used to transport King George VI from Sandringham Church to Wolferton Station after his passing in 1952.
The royals marched in sync with the ominous funeral marches, keeping pace with the soldiers and one another.
In line with his position as the new successor to the kingdom, William looked straight ahead as he marched behind his father, the King.
Charles, dressed in his Field Marshal attire, grasped the end of the Field Marshal Baton that his mother had given him upon his promotion to Field Marshal in 2012.
This lunchtime, solemn members of the Royal Family gathered to make final preparations for the Queen’s moving procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, where she will lie in state for the next five nights.
As King Charles III was being driven into the palace by Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice and Queen Consort Camilla, the crowd cheered and applauded as he passed the Victoria Memorial in his state Rolls Royce.
It’s anticipated that hundreds of thousands of well-wishers would line the route. Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, and Princess Anne, the Queen’s other children, will all participate in the parade through London.
Her Majesty spent her last night at Buckingham Palace in the Bow Room before being taken on a gun carriage to Westminster Hall, where she will lie in state until 6.30 am on Monday, the day of her funeral.
One million people are anticipated to stand in line for up to 35 hours in Central London to pass her coffin, but only 400,000 are likely to go inside, leaving 600,000 people unhappy.