Prince George, 9, and Princess Charlotte, 7, attended the funeral for great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, who they affectionately knew as “gan-gan.”
Prince William and Princess Catherine, the new Prince and Princess of Wales, debated whether to bring their children to the funeral for Queen Elizabeth II, who Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis affectionately knew as “gan-gan.”
They decided their older children, 9-year-old George and 7-year-old Charlotte, were mature enough to attend. They rode silently with their mother and Queen Consort Camilla to the funeral.
Their younger brother, 4-year-old Prince Louis, did not attend his great-grandmother’s funeral. He was likely decided to be too young for the solemn day. He attended the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebration in June and could be seen growing rambunctious at times. In a social media post about the celebrations at the time, Prince William and Princess Catherine humorously acknowledged their youngest child's antics. "We all had an incredible time, especially Louis…" they wrote in part, including an eyes emoji.
While speaking to children outside Windsor Castle on Sept. 10, Princess Catherine said Louis told her, "At least grannie is with great-grandpa now," The Sunday Times' royals editor, Roya Nikkhah reported. Queen Elizabeth’s husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, died in June 2021. He was 99.
But Prince Louis is also struggling to understand the queen’s death and is “asking questions” about it, Australia’s Governor-General David Hurley said Princess Catherine told him during a reception at Buckingham Palace in London Saturday.
“The younger one is now asking questions like, ‘Do you think we can still play these games when we go to Balmoral [Castle in Scotland] and things like that, because she’s not going to be there?'” Hurley told the Daily Mail.
Prince Louis’s older siblings received high praise for how they handled themselves at the queen’s funeral.
Princess Charlotte could be seeing waiting as the Queen Consort and her mother, commonly known as Kate Middleton, exited their car. The young princess made sure her hair was in place before entering Westminster Abbey. She wore a small diamond horseshoe pin in honor of her great-grandmother, who had a great love for horses.
Prince George, now second in line to the throne, could be seen saying "good morning" to a member of the clergy.
At one point, Prince George could be seen being comforted by his mother during the service. At another point in the day, Princess Charlotte broke down in tears.
But the pair were aware of their duties as members of the royal family as well. As the two children waited for the great-grandmother’s coffin to pass them at Wellington Arch, Princess Charlotte could be seen telling Prince George, “You need to bow.” Her big brother could be seen listening intently.
