St. George’s Chapel is packed at the Queen’s state funeral. Nevertheless, the place in front of King Charles III. free. A short-term cancellation is not the reason.
Ironically, the place in front of the grieving King Charles III. remained free at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. However, this had nothing to do with a last-minute cancellation; according to the British tabloid “Express”, there is a royal protocol that leaves nothing to chance.
It was planned from the outset that the seat before Charles III. and alongside his brother Prince Edward remains free. As a gesture to the deceased, for which a place is symbolically reserved, this has nothing to do with it. Instead, there is a very pragmatic reason behind it: This ensures that the king has a full view of his mother’s coffin and the ceremony that is taking place at all times.
In fact, this has already been observed at various ceremonies. For example at the royal weddings of Princess Eugenie with Jack Brooksbank or that of Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan. At the funeral of Prince Philip, on the other hand, numerous places remained free for another reason: to comply with the minimum distances applicable at the time due to the corona pandemic.
Last week, TV viewers were already puzzling over the appearance of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan at the service in Westminster Hall. As part of the royal family, the couple was the only one holding hands. On the other hand, neither King Charles III touched. and wife Queen Camilla nor his son Prince William and Princess Kate or his brother Prince Edward and Countess Sophie.
This is also primarily due to the protocol: holding hands is not intended for active members of the royal family. Even Queen Elizabeth II never held the hand of her husband Prince Philip in public.
