SOPHIE Wessex has revealed the exact moment that “everything stopped” during the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.
The Countess of Wessex was emotional describing how the Queen was left to sit alone during the proceedings.
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Only 30 guests were allowed to say goodbye to the Duke of Edinburgh in April, because of coronavirus restrictions.
It meant the monarch, 95, could not be comforted inside St George’s Chapel at Windsor as she paid a final farewell to her husband.
Speaking to The Telegraph about the moment her husband walked behind his fathers coffin Sophie said: “Everything went still.
“‘Oh my goodness‘ moment. I think the fact that there were so few of us only served to raise the intensity of it.
“You don’t actually think about lots of people watching, because it becomes so personal.
“To see Her Majesty on her own; it was very poignant.”
The Earl added: “It’s always difficult with these kinds of things because you’re in the middle of it, so you’ve got no idea what it necessarily looks like from the outside.
“It became really poignant to be there because it was suddenly so very intimate.”
Sophie, 56, also pointed out how nice it was to have a “lengthy chat” with Prince Harry after the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral – insisting the couple are “still family no matter what”.
The Duke of Sussex flew back from their new home in LA to attend Prince Philip’s funeral, leaving his wife and son Archie in America.
It was the first time that Prince Harry had returned to the UK since stepping down as a senior royal, and giving a bombshell interview to Oprah with his wife Meghan Markle.
It comes as…
- Prince Harry joked he would ‘panic’ bumping into the Queen at Buckingham Palace in unearthed footage
- Prince Edward jokes ‘Oprah who?’ after nephew Harry’s explosive interview with chatshow queen
- Sophie Wessex and Prince Edward reveal they are ‘flattered’ to join slimmed down monarchy after ‘plodding along’
- Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Archie and new daughter ‘could join Queen on Buckingham Palace balcony for Jubilee’
After the funeral in April, Harry was seen talking with William and the Duchess of Cambridge as the group left the service.
A royal source said at the time of the funeral: “It looked like a conciliatory move by William to wait for Harry and allow him to catch up and chat to him and Kate. That could be a significant moment.
“Harry appeared grateful for the opportunity, and Kate seemed to make a point of letting the brothers walk alone together, having briefly chatted to Harry as well.”
But Harry and William’s “peace talks” at their grandfather’s funeral were “doomed to fail” – because Harry had been plotting his new bombshell documentary the whole time, an expert claimed.
The Duke made a series of extraordinary new allegations in the programme The Me You Don’t See – including that father Charles left him to “suffer” amid “total neglect” for his mental health.
William, Harry and Kate were pictured walking together after the service, while it was understood Charles and Harry had also spoken privately.
Charles was also said to be “desperate for a reconciliation” – although William was reportedly deeply upset, even after meeting his brother face-to-face for the first time in a year.
Prince Harry accused his family of showing “total neglect” to his mental health woes and claimed that Prince Charles made him “suffer”.
Harry’s appearance in the explosive documentary left the Queen “deeply upset” – although Charles has no intention of “cutting off his son”, despite his hurt, it’s been claimed.
He accused The Firm of smearing Meghan Markle, who wept into her pillow every night, and said his wife didn’t give into her suicidal thoughts because of how “unfair” it would have been to him.
