Prince George and Princess Charlotte joined their parents in honoring theirgreat-grandmother Queen Elizabeth at the late monarch’s state funeral onMonday.
George, 9, and Charlotte, 7, took part in the royal family procession behindthe Queen’s coffin alongside Prince William and Kate Middleton as the familymade their way down the aisle of Westminster Abbey. Kate, 40, escorted thelittle ones into the service, though William, 40, arrived earlier alongsideKing Charles III.
Kate Middleton Arrives with Prince George and Princess Charlotte to Queen’sFuneral at Westminster Abbey
Prince George, Kate Middleton, Princess Charlotte and Meghan Markle
William and Kate spent last week carefully considering whether to includetheir eldest two children in the procession and service, PEOPLE understands.With the eyes of the world on them, their parents kept in mind the fact thatGeorge and Charlotte were at Westminster Abbey for Prince Philip’s memorialservice in March.
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George and Charlotte are several years younger than William was when heattended his mother Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997 at the age of 15. PrinceLouis, 4, was likely deemed too young to join the rest of the family forMonday’s funeral.
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BBC Royal family processional
William revealed that the ceremonial procession of Queen Elizabeth’s coffinfrom Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall last week reminded him of the sameritual following the death of his mother.
“He said how difficult it was yesterday and how it reminded him of his mum’sfuneral,” said mourner Jane Wells, The Telegraph reported. “Catherine saidit’s just been such a difficult time for all of them, for the whole family.”
Last week, Charles, 73, addressed the United Kingdom for the first time afterthe Queen died at the age of 96. Among the changes announced, Charles sharedthat Prince William and Kate, both 40, had inherited the titles of Prince andPrincess of Wales.
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PHIL NOBLE/POOL/AFP via Getty Prince George, Princess Charlotte and KateMiddleton
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Their three children — who are now the second, third, and fourth in line tothe throne — go from being Princes and Princess of Cambridge to being Princesand Princess of Wales. Therefore, they are now Prince George of Wales,Princess Charlotte of Wales and Prince Louis of Wales.
At a 40-minute walkabout outside Windsor Castle on September 10, the newPrince of Wales opened up to one well-wisher in the crowd about his family.Elaine Gee, 58, a teacher from Wokingham, spoke to William about thedifficulty in explaining the Queen’s death to her primary school pupils.
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BBC Prince William, Prince George and Kate Middleton
“I told him how I work at a school and how it’s been a strange yearcelebrating the Jubilee and now it’s all changed and we are talking aboutthis,” Gee told PEOPLE. “He spoke about George, Charlotte and Louis, sayingthat they were trying to keep some sense of continuity for them at school andkeep things as normal as possible.”
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Samir Hussein/WireImage Kate Middleton, Princess Charlotte and Prince George
Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis were photographed going toa preview day of classes at their new school, Lambrook, just one day beforethe Queen’s death.
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Kate told another well-wisher outside Windsor Castle that Prince Louis had asweet reaction to the news of Queen Elizabeth’s death, saying, “At leastGrannie is with Great-Grandpa now,” according to The Sunday Times royals