On the first anniversary since Elizabeth II’s death at Balmoral Castle, The Prince and Princess of Wales made a poignant visit to St Davids Cathedral in Pembrokeshire for a service on Friday.
The couple arrived by helicopter later than planned due to the foggy conditions. However, that didn’t stop the crowds from gathering to get a glimpse of the heir to the throne and his wife.
As William and Catherine walked up to the hotel, one well-wisher could be heard shouting to the couple: ‘You’re doing a great job!’
During the service, The Prince and Princess of Wales were led to a portrait of Elizabeth II. The Princess laid a bouquet of flowers and curtsied to the portrait, before stepping back in line with her husband, where they took a moment’s silence, then being led to their seats for the service.
After the service, the Prince and Princess met schoolchildren who presented the Royals with flowers and gifts, as well as members of the public.
The visit to St Davids Cathedral held a more personal meaning for the couple, as it holds direct ties to the late Queen. Elizabeth II visited the Cathedral four times during her reign (1955, 1982, 1995 and 2001) where she had sat in a special stall within the Cathedral quire. St Davids Cathedral is the only UK cathedral where the Sovereign has a special stall in the quire.
St Davids has been a site of pilgrimage and worship for more than 1,400 years, since St David (the patron saint of Wales) settled with his monastic community in the 6th Century. Since the Reformation, one of the quire stalls has been in the possession of the Crown and is known as the Sovereign’s Stall.
The Very Revd Dr Sarah Rowland Jones, Dean of St Davids, told the congregation: ‘It is particularly poignant to welcome you here, Your Royal Highnesses, on Accession Day, the first anniversary of the death of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
‘She came here four times: the only Monarch to sit in the Sovereign’s stall, the seat of a Chapter member which came into the possession of the Crown at the Reformation. Today countless numbers will be remembering her with both sadness and with great affection, giving thanks again for her long life of dedicated service – as we do here.’
In his first statement as Prince of Wales released last year, William touched on the loss the world has suffered, the loss a Monarch whose commitment to ‘the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth was absolute’ and who’s reign he classed as ‘historic’.
William then went on to thank Elizabeth II for the kindness that she showed himself and his family; ‘my wife has had 20 years of her guidance and support. My three children have got to spend holidays with her and create memories’.
