King Charles,Prince WilliamandPrince Harryeach appeared “deeply emotionally affected” atQueen Elizabeth’s state funeral on Monday, an onlooker says.
Lesley Garven MBE, manager ofthe Blind Veterans UK, tells PEOPLE that the monarch and his sons appeared emotional during the services.
“They were obviously holding it together, but when you are so close to somebody you can really feel it and see it, and I think that was probably quite … it was human. It was real human feelings,” Garven adds. “Being in there was quite up close and personal and intimate. And it was that whole feeling of, ‘This is somebody’s mother and grandmother.’ Below the pageantry, you could really feel it. The real, raw feelings of people.”
Prince William and Prince Harry.MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images
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Says Garven, “It was just the look on their faces, the way they held themselves. Teary is a way you could describe it. When you’re at a funeral and it’s somebody’s close relative you just want to go up to them and say, ‘It’s going to be okay.’ You feel it from them. That’s exactly how I felt from the royal family — it wasn’t the ‘grin and bear it’, it was ‘this is really painful.’ "
Garven says the same sentiment “applies to all of” the royal family present for the day. “You could see Princess Anne was absolutely devastated. King Charles too; I was really surprised. But it was lovely. Really lovely.”
King Charles and Prince William.Justin Setterfield/Getty
As the new reigning monarch, Charlesplayed a major role in his mother’s funeralproceedings Monday. The King joined members of the royal family as they followed the Queen’s coffin for a procession from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey before her state funeral began in London. The new monarch was solemn, walking behind the Queen’s coffin with siblingsPrincess Anne,Prince AndrewandPrince Edward.
Behind him were William and Harry,walking beside their cousin, Anne’s son, Peter Phillips. Members of the Queen’s household staff also participated in the procession.
source: people.com
