Around 2,000 people were invited to the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and one person noticed a subtle gesture Prince Harry made to his wife Meghan Markle as the couple parted ways.
A guest at Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral told of how Prince Harry tried to comfort his wife Meghan Markle during the service. The state funeral of the late monarch was attended by 2,000 guests at Westminster Abbey on Monday, September 19. As well as members of the close and extended Royal Family, many world leaders, heads of states and diplomats were also invited. One guest, attorney Pranav Bhanot, spoke with People after the funeral and revealed how “supportive” the Duke of Sussex was towards the Duchess of Sussex.
He said he saw the “reassurance” that Harry gave to Meghan when they were walking together and then had to go “their different directions”. The separation appeared to prompt him to “squeeze” her hand. Mr Bhanot said: “When they went their separate directions after the ceremony, he gave her a firm squeeze of the hand. “I felt he wanted to ensure she felt comfortable.” Harry did not wear a military uniform at the service, unlike many of his family members, as he stepped down from duties as a working royal in 2020.
Only working royals are allowed to dress in uniform and therefore Harry wore a morning suit instead. The Duke of Sussex was also not permitted to perform a salute during the funeral procession for the same reason – and instead he bowed his head in recognition and tribute. Prince Andrew was also unable to wear a military uniform and salute since he stepped down from public life after the furore surrounding his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, which also saw his honorary titles stripped. During the service, Meghan paid a touching tribute to the Queen using a simple gesture.
The Duchess of Sussex dressed in all black and wore the pearl earrings given to her by the Queen, who was known to be a fan of pearls. The former actress had previously told Oprah Winfrey of the time she received a “beautiful gift” from the late monarch. The funeral of Queen Elizabeth – who died on September 8 aged 96 – saw thousands of mourners line Westminster streets to pay their last respects to the UK’s longest-serving monarch.
Many dressed in black but some wore bright Union Jack outfits as the members of the public listened to the service, singing along to the hymns and the national anthem. Earlier on Monday, the last member of public let in for the Queen’s lying in state at Westminster Hall queued up twice overnight to be able to pay their respects described it as on her life’s “highlights”. Chrissy Heerey, a serving member of the RAF from Melton Mowbray, said: ” I was the last person to pay my respects to the Queen and it felt like a real privilege to do that.
