LONDON (Reuters) -Senior members of the British royal family will this week thank military staff, including some involved in Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, Buckingham Palace said on Wednesday, as Prince William spoke of the “time of grief” following his grandmother’s death.
Elizabeth’s funeral – a dazzling show of pomp and ceremony attended by some 500 presidents, prime ministers, foreign royal family members and dignitaries – marked the end of ten days of national mourning in Britain.
But royal mourning runs until Monday, and King Charles has not had any engagements since the funeral, where he was visibly emotional after an intense week or so where he visited all four nations, grieved the death of his mother and became monarch.
Elizabeth’s only daughter, Anne, will on Thursday meet Royal Navy personnel who took part in the funeral procession for the queen, while the queen’s youngest son Edward will visit Estonia and Germany to visit troops over a three day trip.
William, King Charles’ eldest son and now heir to the throne, gave a speech virtually to the Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit, a climate change conference he has backed, alluding to the “saddest of circumstances that means I cannot join you in person today.”
“During this time of grief, I take great comfort in your continued enthusiasm, optimism and commitment to The Earthshot Prize and what we are trying to achieve,” he said in his address which was played out on Wednesday.
“Protecting the environment was a cause close to my Grandmother’s heart, and I know she would have been delighted to hear about this event.”
(Reporting by Farouq Suleiman and Alistair Smout; editing by William James)
