The Duchess of Sussex shared a car with Prince Harry, who later split off to join a procession behind the queen’s coffin as it was moved on the back of a Royal Navy gun carriage from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey, where the service began at 11 a.m.
Meghan was seen speaking with other guests at the funeral before the procession started at 10:44 a.m. as Big Ben tolled for a woman described by many as Britain’s greatest ever monarch.
She was also seen sharing a car from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey with Sophie, Countess of Wessex, wife of the queen’s youngest child Prince Edward.
Once there she was seen alongside Kate Middleton and her older children Prince George and Princess Charlotte, who were given the opportunity to play a role in the funeral late.
Bagpipes played and Big Ben tolled as King Charles III, surrounded by his family and forces personnel, walked in solemn silence for around eight minutes to the abbey.
He was initially followed by the queen’s children, Prince Andrew, Princess Anne and Prince Edward, before Prince William and Prince Harry.
At the abbey, the blood royals were then reunited with their spouses and Prince Harry and Meghan walked in side by side.
Ahead of them, were Prince George, 9, and Princess Charlotte, 7, who were given an opportunity to be part of their great grandmother’s funeral service.
Emotion was visible on the sombre faces of family members as the filed into the abbey watched on by the great and the good of world politics, including British Prime Minister Liz Truss as well as President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.
The show of royal unity comes after a tense 11 days following the queen’s death on Thursday, September 8, in which difficult feelings bubbled below the surface.
First, Meghan mysteriously pulled out of joining Harry on the trip to Scotland, while Harry was expected to arrange his own travel rather than share a plane with Prince William, Andrew, Edward and Sophie.
Then the official announcement of the queen’s death was released to the public while Harry’s plane was still in the air, minutes before he was due to land in Aberdeen.
Since then, there have been tensions over whether Harry would wear military uniform to a vigil in the queen’s honor and whether the Sussexes would attend a reception for world leaders at Buckingham Palace on Sunday, February 18, on the eve of the funeral.
Harry released a tribute to the queen on Monday, September 12: “Her unwavering grace and dignity remained true throughout her life and now her everlasting legacy. Let us echo the words she spoke after the passing of her husband, Prince Philip, words which can bring comfort to all of us now: ‘Life, of course, consists of final partings as well as first meetings.’
“Granny, while this final parting brings us great sadness, I am forever grateful for all of our first meetings—from my earliest childhood memories with you, to meeting you for the first time as my Commander-in-Chief, to the first moment you met my darling wife and hugged your beloved great-grandchildren.
“I cherish these times shared with you, and the many other special moments in between. You are already sorely missed, not just by us, but by the world over. And as it comes to first meetings, we now honour my father in his new role as King Charles III.”
