Vigil of the Princes

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Vigil of the Princes refers to occasions when members of the

Queen Elizabeth II in 2022. During the first two of these occasions, only male members of the British royal family joined the vigil. In 2022 however, Anne, Princess Royal
, took part alongside her three brothers in vigils for their mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

King George V

Main article: Death and state funeral of George V

King Edward VIII, the Duke of York, the Duke of Gloucester, and the Duke of Kent, took guard at the lying-in-state of their father George V on 27 January 1936. (A fifth son, Prince John, had predeceased his father in 1919.) The vigil took place after Westminster Hall
was closed to the public for the evening.

No photographic record of this event is known and public viewing of the vigil was prohibited, though an

Foot Guards uniform; at this point in time, the Duke of York served as Colonel of the Regiment of the Scots Guards
.

17 years later, at the funeral of George V's widow Mary of Teck, her two surviving sons, the Duke of Windsor (formerly King Edward VIII) and the Duke of Gloucester, also took turn in standing vigil at their mother's coffin.[3]

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother

Main article: Death and funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother

At 16:40 UTC on 8 April 2002, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, the Earl of Wessex, and Viscount Linley, took guard at the lying-in-state of their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.[4] The four relieved the guard of the Royal Company of Archers, and were themselves relieved by the Yeomen of the Guard after their 20-minute vigil. Both the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York wore naval uniform, while the Earl of Wessex and Viscount Linley wore black morning dress; the Earl of Wessex joined the Royal Marines, but chose to leave before completing basic training, while Lord Linley has never served in the forces. Present during the Changing of the Guard were the Prince of Wales' two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.[5]

Queen Elizabeth II

Main article: Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II
The Duke of York, standing guard during the Vigil of the Princes, 16 September 2022

Queen Elizabeth II had four children:

Royal Stuart tartan, the Princess Royal wore the full dress uniform of the Royal Navy, the Earl of Wessex and Forfar wore the No.1 dress uniform of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry, of which he is the Royal Honorary Colonel, and the Duke of York wore black morning dress with medals.[10] Anne, Princess Royal, made history as the first woman to participate in the ceremony.[11][12]

As part of the late Queen's lying-in-state in London, at 19:47 BST on 16 September 2022, her four children stood vigil for the second time.[b][15] All were in military uniform, with the King and the Duke of York both wearing ceremonial day dress of the Royal Navy, the Princess Royal wearing the full dress uniform, including the staff of a Gold Stick, of the Blues and Royals, of which she is the Colonel of the Regiment, and the Earl of Wessex and Forfar in the No.1 dress uniform of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry, the Army Reserve regiment of which he is Royal Honorary Colonel.

The following day at 18:00 BST, her eight grandchildren,

Viscount Severn, stood vigil over their grandmother's coffin.[16][c] At King Charles III's request, both the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex were in uniform, with both wearing the No.1 dress of the Blues and Royals while Peter Phillips and Viscount Severn each wore black morning dress with medals and the women wore dark formal dresses.[17][18]

Unlike the vigil that occurred in 2002, the royal family did not relieve any of the guards standing at attention at the Queen's coffin. At each vigil, the royal family took sides of the coffin, while the guards on duty remained in place at the corners and members of the royal family standing one step above the guards. Each vigil lasted 15 minutes or less, while the Changing of the Guard occurred every twenty minutes.[19]

See also

  • Vigil guard

Notes

  1. Sir Timothy Laurence, as well as the Queen's first cousin, the Duke of Gloucester.[9]
  2. ^ Also present were the spouses of the late Queen's children: the Queen Consort, the Countess of Wessex and Forfar, and Sir Timothy Laurence; as well as six of the Queen's grandchildren and their spouses, two of her great-grandchildren, and her four surviving paternal cousins.[13][14]
  3. ^ Also present were the Earl and Countess of Wessex and Forfar.[17]

References

  1. ^ "Frank Ernest Beresford (1881-1967) - The Princes Vigil - 12.15 am January 28th, 1936". www.rct.uk. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  2. ^ Frank Beresford: Derby artist painted royalty Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine – bygonederbyshire.co.uk
  3. ^ "Queen Mary to be buried Tuesday". The Northern Star. 27 March 1953. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023 – via Trove.
  4. ^ "Grandsons hold vigil as public files past". The Guardian. 9 April 2002. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  5. ^ "Charles returns for second tribute". BBC News. 9 April 2002. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  6. ^ Knight, Sam (17 March 2017). "'London Bridge is down': the secret plan for the days after the Queen's death". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  7. ^ "Vigil of the Princes that will see Queen's family stand guard at coffin explained". The Independent. 12 September 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Queen's children perform Vigil of the Princes". BBC News. 12 September 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  9. ^ a b Drummond, Michael (13 September 2022). "Andrew, Edward and Anne join the King in vigil at Queen's coffin". Sky News. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  10. ^ King’s royal tartan worn at Queen’s vigil was 'sign of love for Scotland'
  11. ^ "Princess Anne Made History as First Woman to Participate in the Vigil of the Princes". Town & Country. 14 September 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  12. ^ Hollowood, Kate (14 September 2022). "How Princess Anne made history this week at the Vigil of the Princes". Marie Claire. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  13. ^ Therrien, Alex (16 September 2022). "Royals hold sombre watch over Queen's coffin". BBC News. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  14. ^ Moore, Matthew (16 September 2022). "The Queen's children stand guard over her coffin in emotional moment". Hello!. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  15. ^ "Queen's funeral details revealed as monarch to be buried with Prince Philip". Sky News. 15 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  16. ^ Bowden, George; Faulker, Doug (16 September 2022). "Queen Elizabeth II's grandchildren to observe lying-in-state vigil". BBC News. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  17. ^ a b Cursino, Malu; Gregory, James (17 September 2022). "William and Harry lead historic coffin vigil". BBC News. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  18. ^ "Queen's grandchildren to stand vigil beside coffin on Saturday". The Guardian. PA Media. 16 September 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  19. ^ Kindelan, Katie (17 September 2022). "Princes William, Harry lead grandchildren in vigil at Queen Elizabeth II's coffin". ABC News. Retrieved 20 September 2022.

External links

For Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
For Queen Elizabeth II
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