The Duke and Duchess of Clarence

17th of September 2022 - Westminster Hall

There had been a lot of talk going into what would happen this evening, most notably about who would be wearing what for the occasion; quite a few fits had been thrown but in the end it was the late Queen's wishes that had been respected. 

The crowds gathering outside of Westminster had come to a complete stop for nearly two hours before the expected arrival of the royals; cameras taking in the large gathering while the queue to see the Queen continued to grow. 

The ride from Buckingham Palace back to Westminster had been surreal, tension filling the air and there was no avoiding the brewing confrontation that was building. 

There were questions on should Louise and James be allowed to join the vigil that would be mounted by their cousins, the two younger grandchildren of the Queen still teenagers compared to the others. 

The banging of the guards sword brought the crowds to a stop as they passed by the coffin, the room as silent as when the royal family had left three days earlier. 

The side door opened and in filed the nine grandchildren of the late monarch, William, Adeline and Harry, Beatrice and Eugenie, Louise and James, Peter and Zara filled down the stairs. 

William leading the way with his brother and sister behind him, Harry having been allowed to wear his military uniform for this occasion since that had been the Queen's wish but for all other occasions he would be expected to wearing a mourning suit like his uncle and godfather. 

The walk was slow, heads lowered as they made their way down the stairs before pausing at the start of the hall where they had all stood days earlier while the Queen had been welcomed to Westminster for the last time. 

Standing amongst their cousins, it was hard to ignore how young James and Louise looked in the line-up; Peter and Zara would be close by them as the eldest just in case they needed support. 

The guard banged his sword again on the ground signalling they could approach the coffin, the crowds stopped to watch them make their approach. 

As they reached the platform, the formation broke off with Harry traveling to the other side of the coffin with Beatrice, Louise and Zara following him on the left while Eugenie, James and Peter took the other side. 

William and Adeline stopped at the foot of the coffin, waiting for the others to reach their positions before they all started to mount the platform in sync when the guard let them know they were in the right position.

Turning to face the crowd, the nine grandchildren stood in silence as the guard banged his sword again so that their vigil could begin; their heads lowered and their hands clasped before them while the crowds continued to pay their respects around them. 

People saluted and crossed themselves as they made their way past the coffin, some crying for the scene that played out and stared up at the grandchildren that had lost their grandmother. 

Adeline wondered what her grandmother would think of all of this, she wondered if she realised how loved she had been by the people despite everything that had happened. 

There had been a time that the people had talked about how unpopular and irrelevant the monarchy was and how it should be done away with as a fixture of a by-gone era. 

The last few days had shown that wasn't the case, there would be always people who hated the monarchy and blamed them for the wrongs of the world; but they were drowned out by those who had admired the late Queen. 

Even her father had seen a surge in popularity since his accession, people crowding to see him and speak with him; no one could have imagined such a thing after what had happened to her mother.