‘James was really keen to do it’: Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, opens up about the 'incredibly moving' moment Lady Louise Windsor and the Earl of Wessex stood vigil for Queen Elizabeth II
As the Duchess of Edinburgh turns 60, she has spoken candidly about watching Lady Louise Windsor and James, the Earl of Wessex, as they accompanied the late Queen's coffin
Speaking with residents at L’Arche, a community in South London comprising people with learning disabilities and those who support them, Sophie described how she felt ‘so proud' of her children and ‘all of the cousins’ for their dignified tribute.
At first, the Duchess said, she had felt some trepidation around placing Lady Louise and the Earl of Wessex in such a prominent position on the global stage while they grieved – perhaps thinking of William and Harry's ‘traumatic’ experience walking behind their mother’s coffin during Princess Diana’s funeral.
‘I suppose there was a part of me initially that thought, “Would it be appropriate for James, perhaps, to do it?” because he was younger than the others, but he was really keen to do it,’ she remarked, as reported in The Telegraph.
‘I think it was really important for him to do it, and obviously for Louise as well. But they did it so well, each and every one of them. I was slightly holding my breath, wanting them to feel that they’d done it well more than anything else.
Queen Elizabeth II's grandchildren mount a family vigil over her coffin lying in state in Westminster Hall
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