HE showed he had inherited his great-grandmother’s famous stoicism while she took her day in the global spotlight in her stride.
This was, for nine-year-old Prince George and younger sister Charlotte, seven, a taste of their life of duty to come.
Prince George inherited his great-grandmother’s stoicism – pictured George and Charlotte at the funeral of The Queen at Westminster Abbey
The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is carried into Westminster Abbey, followed by King Charles III, the Queen Consort and the rest of the Royal Family
George — who knows one day he will be King — looked like was he was coping admirably alongside sister Charlotte, the Princess of Wales and Meghan
They came to say farewell to the monarch they knew as Gan-Gan but, surely, never before can two so young have been centre stage at an event of such magnitude.
George — who knows one day he will be King — looked like was he was coping admirably.
His sister, in a wide-brimmed hat, cut a diminutive figure with her legs dangling from her chair, her feet unable to touch the floor.
Their parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, decided only at the weekend that George and Charlotte should attend, judging them mature enough to appreciate the part they would play in history.
Little brother Louis, at four, was deemed too young.
The Order of Service listed George and Charlotte as walking side by side in the family procession behind the coffin.
But when the cortège passed through the West Entrance, William held George’s hand and Charlotte — wearing a horseshoe brooch which was a gift from the Queen — took her mother’s as they broke ranks to become a family foursome.
The children took their seats in the front row, just a few feet from their Gan-Gan’s coffin.
Their parents were only a step away should they start to fret.
As the ceremony drew to a close, the Princess of Wales, 40, reached her right arm across and held tightly and lovingly to her daughter’s right hand.
And Prince William, also 40, was there for his son with a reassuring glance or nod.
But the young royals — thrust into what the Archbishop of Canterbury called “the brightest spotlight” — never blinked once.
William was there for his son with a reassuring glance or nod, as Kate reached her right arm across and held lovingly to her daughter’s hand
The Queen alongside Prince William, Catherine, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, during the Platinum Jubilee on June 5, 2022
