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Tuesday October 08, 2024

Tearful Charles leads emotional Vigil with Andrew, Anne and Edward

King Charles appeared to fight back tears as he stood alongside his siblings

By Web Desk
September 13, 2022
Tearful Charles leads emotional Vigil with  Andrew, Anne and Edward

King Charles III fought back tears as he led emotional vigil with his brother prince Andrew, Edward and sister Anne on Monday

The new monarch appeared to fight back tears as he stood alongside his siblings. Queen Elizabeth's four children performed the traditional Vigil around the coffin of their late mother at St Giles' Cathedral on Monday.

The symbolic move sees the the siblings position themselves at each side of the Queen's coffin to stand guard for a short time.

Tearful Charles leads emotional Vigil with  Andrew, Anne and Edward

The process - called the Vigil of the Princes - was first carried out in 1936 when King Edward VIII and his three brothers, Princes Albert, Henry and George, stood by the coffin of their late father, King George V.

Since then, it has only been done on one other occasion - at the funeral of the Queen Mother in 2002. The King - who was known then as Prince Charles - was one of the people who stood by on that occasion.

After a poignant 10 minutes, the vigil came to an end and the Royal Family returned to their cars to applause from the crowd outside the cathedral.

About 20,000 people have been waiting in a mile-long queue for several hours to enter St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh, where the Queen's coffin lies at rest.

This ceremony - the Vigil of the Princes - was first carried out in 1936 for the late King George V. King Charles previously stood in vigil when the Queen Mother died, when he four grandsons carried out the duty.