Queen Elizabeth’s ‘heartbreakingly devastating’ body language at Prince Philip’s funeral
QUEEN ELIZABETH II'S body language at Prince Philip's funeral was "heartbreakingly devastating", according to an expert.
Queen arrives at chapel for Prince Philip’s funeral
The Duke of Edinburgh died on April 9, with his funeral taking place on Saturday at St George’s Chapel in Windsor. Her Majesty sat alone at the service due to coronavirus restrictions, where only 30 people can attend funerals.
Dr Louise Mahler, body language expert, watched the service and noted the Queen seemed heartbroken at the loss of her husband of 73 years.
Referring to footage of Her Majesty arriving at St George’s Chapel, she told The Morning Show: “She was hunched, she was slightly unstable on her feet, she seemed to be favouring one side.
“She was covered, she had her head down so we didn’t really see her face at all.
“It was just heartbreakingly devastating to watch.”
READ MORE: William and Harry reunited in grief as they lay grandfather to rest
Penny Junor, royal expert, noted the monarch showed remarkable composure at Philip’s funeral, and said he would want her to “keep calm and carry on”.
She said in The Sun: “Ever resilient, ever composed, she has kept calm and carried on.
“As she will do now, as Prince Philip would expect her to do."
The expert also said Philip’s “practical, unsentimental, stiff-upper-lip attitude” would have provided “succour, comfort and the resolve to keep on going” for the Queen.
At the funeral, the Queen left a final letter for Philip on his coffin alongside a wreath.
Reports have shared the couple wrote letters to each other over the course of their relationship and marriage.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the notes contents as it is “private”.
The Queen has already carried out two royal engagements since Philip’s death, with her first coming just four days after.
In her first solo statement after the Duke’s death, she expressed how she was “saddened” by St. Vincent volcanic eruptions.
In 1997, during their Golden Anniversary, Her Majesty said of the Duke: “He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know.”