She wore a hat for the first time and a horseshoe brooch to pay tribute to her great-grandmother's love for horses.
The Queen's great-granddaughter, Princess Charlotte, said her final farewell to the monarch in a special way. The princess accompanied her parents, Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton, to London on Monday for the Queen's state funeral, reports People Magazine. Charlotte mirrored her mother in a long coat and wore a hat with a bow for the first time, a lovely and dignified tribute to the Queen.
The Princess also wore a little diamond brooch in the shape of a horseshoe as an homage to her great-grandmother's love for horses. Charlotte led the royal family procession behind the Queen's coffin during the state burial, alongside parents William and Kate and brother Prince George, 9, as the family made their way down the aisle of Westminster Abbey. Kate led the children into the service, however, William, 40, came earlier with King Charles III. They walked ahead of their aunt and uncle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
William and Kate decided to include Charlotte and George in the funeral procession after careful consideration as the eyes of the whole world is on the family. They recalled that George and Charlotte had attended Prince Philip's funeral ceremony at Westminster Abbey. As the funeral of the Kind consort was scaled down due to COVID-19 government limitations of the time, the memorial ceremony allowed additional family members and representatives from the different charities in which Prince Philip was involved to pay their condolences.
Charlotte's appearance served as a reminder of how the Queen's reign brought an end to the British monarchy's hundreds of years of hereditary rule. Since 2013, a younger son cannot dethrone an elder daughter in the line of succession, therefore Charlotte is third in line and her younger brother, Louis, is fourth, per The Guardian.
Prince Louis, 4, was most likely thought too young to attend the funeral with the rest of the family on Monday.
During a reception at Buckingham Palace in London on Saturday, Kate, 40, spoke with Australia's Governor-General David Hurley about her 4-year-old son, reports Page Six. Hurley said, "The younger one is now asking questions like, ‘Do you think we can still play these games when we go to Balmoral [Castle in Scotland] and things like that, because she’s not going to be there?' "
On the other hand, Prince George is now beginning to understand, "how important his great-grandmother was and what is going on."
References:
https://pagesix.com/2022/09/19/kate-middleton-louis-struggling-to-understand-queens-death/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images/WPA Pool