Prince Harry, Prince Andrew allowed to wear military uniforms at Queen Elizabeth II's vigil
MANILA, Philippines — King Charles III allowed Prince Harry to wear his military uniform at Queen Elizabeth II's vigil.
Prince Harry was alongside his brother Prince William and the Queen's other six grandchildren in the vigil.
Prince Harry needed the King's permission after he resigned from his royal duties in 2020.
King Charles III also granted the controversial Prince Andrew to wear his military uniform after he was forced out of the royal family after he defended his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Queen Elizabeth II's eight grandchildren mounted a vigil around her coffin Saturday as US President Joe Biden flew in ahead of the state funeral being planned for Britain's longest-serving monarch.
King Charles III's sons Prince William and his brother Prince Harry stood guard around the crowned casket in London's Westminster Hall as members of the public, who had waited several hours to file past the catafalque, paid their last respects.
Queen Elizabeth II's grandchildren, aged from 44 to 14, stood silently with their eyes lowered.
Harry — who did two tours with the British Army in Afghanistan — wore the uniform of the Blues and Royals cavalry regiment in which he served.
The move appeared to be the latest olive branch offered by King Charles toward his youngest son after Harry and his wife Meghan, now living in California, accused the royal family of racism.
No longer a working royal, Harry, 38, was stripped of his higher-ranking honorary military titles. The vigil will be the only time he will be seen in military dress at royal ceremonial occasions.
William and Harry, Prince Andrew's daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Princess Anne's children Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, and Prince Edward's children Louise and James silently stood guard around their grandmother's casket.
Edward's wife Sophie looked grief-stricken as she watched their children, 18 and 14 respectively, take on the most arduous public duty they have ever faced.
The personal sorrow of the queen's family has been playing out in the glare of intense international attention.
Beatrice and Eugenie paid a heartfelt tribute to "our dearest Grannie" shortly before the vigil.
"We, like many, thought you'd be here forever," the sisters said in a statement. "And we all miss you terribly.
"You were our matriarch, our guide, our loving hand on our backs leading us through this world... For now dear Grannie, all we want to say is thank you."
They added: "We're so happy you're back with Grandpa," — her husband Prince Philip, who died last year aged 99.
Charles, William greet queue
The vigil came hours after King Charles and his heir William staged an unscheduled London walkabout to thank those queueing overnight to pay their last respects.
"It means an awful lot that you're all here," William's Twitter account said afterwards.
Queen Elizabeth's death on September 8 aged 96, after a record-breaking 70 years on the throne, has sparked an outpouring of emotion.
Tens of thousands of people are braving waits that have stretched to more than 25 hours to file past her flag-shrouded coffin.
The royal visit delighted mourners who had waited through a chilly night.
Cries of "God save the king" came from the riverside crowd as the royals thanked the well-wishers.
"I'm so happy. He was so calm and friendly, and he was so gentle," said Geraldine Potts-Ahmad, a secretary in her late 50s, as she struggled to contain her emotions after shaking hands with King Charles.
"He is going to make the best king. That gentleness and that tenderness -- I saw the queen in that."
Some 435 people in the queue have needed medical treatment, often for head injuries after fainting, the London Ambulance Service said.
But Alison Whitham, an ex-nurse from Ashby in the English Midlands, said her 14-hour wait was well worth it after paying her final respects.
"It was very moving, very dignified, blissfully quiet," the 54-year-old said.
"The fact that you could just concentrate, with nobody holding phones up, was so lovely."
At 10:30 p.m. (2130 GMT) Saturday, the queue was estimated to be at least 17 hours long.
The public have until 6:30 a.m. (0530 GMT) on Monday to view the coffin before the queen is honored with Britain's first state funeral in nearly six decades.
The funeral ceremony at Westminster Abbey — expected to be watched by billions around the globe — will see 142 sailors pulling the gun-carriage bearing her lead-lined coffin.
It will be attended by more than 2,000 guests, but leaders from countries at loggerheads with the UK such as Russia, Belarus and Afghanistan have not been invited. —With reports from AFP
