The Princess Royal has issued a statement upon returning to London, after accompanying her late mother’s coffin from Scotland.
The Queen’s coffin left St Giles’ Cathedral earlier today, where it laid in state for members of the public to pay their respects.
The Queen with Princess Anne in a photo to mark her 90th birthday in 2016 (Annie Leibowitz)
Princess Anne opened her statement by saying she was ‘fortunate to share the last 24 hours of my dearest Mother’s life’. She called it an ‘honour and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys’.
HRH acknowledges the ‘love and respect’ shown by the public which in turn has been ‘humbling and uplifting’.
‘We will all share unique memories. I offer my thanks to each and every one who share our sense of loss. We may have been reminded how much of her presence and contributions to our national identity we took for granted.’
The Princess also says she is grateful ‘for the support and understanding offered to my dear brother Charles as he accepts the added responsibilities of The Monarch’.
‘To my mother, the Queen, thank you’.
Princess Anne was the Queen’s only daughter. The Queen and Anne shared an undeniably close bond, as they both enjoyed a love for horses and equestrian events. The duo also shared a similar work ethic, as Anne is often named the hardest-working Royal due to the number of engagements she racked up each year, and continues to do so.
The Queen and Princess Anne at The Braemar Gathering in 2018
The Princess joined her mother for one of the late Queen’s final engagements in public, by attending a hospice opening in Maidenhead in July, and stood vigil over her coffin yesterday in Edinburgh alongside her siblings.
