The eldest children of The Prince and Princess of Wales attended their great-grandmother's State funeral and behaved beautifully. George and Charlotte were guided by their parents and at one stage Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
Here are some photos of a very sad and emotional day for the royal family and for those of us who loved Her Majesty from afar. May she Rest In Peace.
Thank you to my kind friend Diana who shared some of these photos.
Operation Unicorn And Operation London Bridge = Abridged
Details of the British government's plan for the
Queen's death — Operation London
Bridge — have been well-reported over
the years.
But now that the Queen has died in Scotland, a second, lesser-known plan called Operation Unicorn has to unfold first.
Operation Unicorn- Balmoral to English/Scottish Border
Here's how Scotland's Operation Unicorn is unfolding.
With the Queen typically spending three months a year at her favourite residence, Balmoral, a plan was clearly needed if she died there.A number of other plans also existed, including Operation Overstudy, which would have been used if the Queen died while overseas.
The Queen died at Balmoral in north-east Scotland on Thursday local time.
Once the Queen crosses the Scottish border, Operation Unicorn ends and Operation London Bridge commences.
Sunday 11 September
The Queen's coffin, which is currently in the ballroom at Balmoral, will be carried by six gamekeepers from the Balmoral Estate.
It will be driven by hearse to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, a journey starting at 10am and expected to last six hours.
The coffin will:
• Reach Ballater at around 10.12am
• Make its way through Aboyne, Banchory, Peterculter
• Arrive in Aberdeen at around 11.20am, moving through the city's suburbs
• Move through Porthleven, Stonehaven before heading inland
• Head through the Angus countryside and past Brechin
• Arrive in Dundee at around 2pm, where it will go around the city on the Kingsway
• Head towards Perth, across the Friarton Bridge and down the M90
• Go over the Queensferry Crossing towards Edinburgh
• Enter Edinburgh from the west, skirt by Edinburgh Castle
• Down the full length of the Royal Mile to the Palace of Holyroodhouse ( below) by about 4pm
• The coffin will rest in the Throne Room of Holyroodhouse to allow staff at the palace to pay their respects
Meanwhile In London:
The King, who succeeds his mother as head of the Commonwealth, will have an audience with its secretary-general at Buckingham Palace. Head of the Commonwealth is not a title that the King "naturally inherits". It is something the Commonwealth agreed to some years ago, so he is now the new head of the Commonwealth,
Proclamations of Charles as King will also take place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Monday 12 September
The King and Queen Consort will travel to Edinburgh to join a procession from Holyroodhouse to St Giles Cathedral.
The procession will leave at 2.35pm, with the King and some members of the Royal Family following on foot.
At 2.55pm, the coffin will be carried into the cathedral with the Crown of Scotland on top.
This is a separate crown to the one she was crowned in, It is a symbol of the Scottish nation that is kept in Edinburgh Castle.
The coffin will rest in the cathedral, and members of the public can pay their respects. Mourners will be able to view the coffin from 5pm, with a queuing system in place and strict security checks and restrictions on mobile phones. Photography and recording is strictly prohibited.
Members of the public who wish to pay their respects have been warned they face long waits due to the anticipated demand.
Officials say weather conditions may be challenging and standing for a number of hours should be expected.
Tuesday 13 September
On Tuesday 13 September at 5pm, a hearse will take the coffin to Edinburgh airport arriving at 6pm. The Princess Royal will fly with the coffin for the 55-minute flight to RAF Northolt.
Operation London Bridge will be featured in a separate Blog post.
@kensingtonroyal social media page has already been updated to reflect the change in title. So in time George, Charlotte and Louis will be known as "of Wales" or George Wales etc just as William was born Prince William of Wales.
But to keep life simpler in the coming months it may be less of an upheaval to continue to be known as George Cambridge etc at school.
Prince William has arrived back in Windsor from Balmoral and was reunited with Catherine before she left to pick up the children from school.
Many changes for the Royal Family.
The Princess of Wales picking up the children from school
Amid the shock and sadness that has washed over us in the wake of Her Majesty's death, I am slowly looking at how the next two weeks will look.
Operation Unicorn has been put into action. Once the Queen's body crosses into England from Scotland, Operation London Bridge will takeover.
I am researching both of these Operations currently.
Prince Charles is now His Majesty King Charles III and Camilla is The Queen Consort.
One early change for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge is that they are also now the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall. This was previously the title of Prince Charles. The Duchy of Cornwall has huge commercial undertakings and property portfolio. The Duke of Cornwall derives his income from the Duchy.
I will delve into this in due course, but essentially William and Catherine are now known as Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge. As new heir to the throne William will also become Prince of Wales and hence Catherine will be Princess of Wales.
A very sad day indeed. Here is a Tweet from Paddington Bear which will make you smile and/or cry!
It is with deep sadness that I convey the news of Queen
Elizabeth's death. Her Majesty passed away at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on the afternoon of Thursday 8th September.
Operations Unicorn and London Bridge will now be enacted. I have the document which sets out everything which will happen over the next days and weeks. I will share these details with readers soon.
His Majesty King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla will travel from Scotland to London tomorrow.
God Save The King
Princes George and Louis and sister Princess Charlotte experienced their first day as students at Lambrook School near Ascot on Wednesday. Not only was it the first day at a new school for George and Charlotte, it was first ever day of school for Louis.
The Cambridge family was greeted by Headmaster Jonathan Perry for a settling in afternoon with other new students and families. The official first day of school will be Thursday.
One photographer and a reporter captured the event which satisfies the public interest and ensures moments in history are recorded. It also means that on the official first day for all pupils, the school will operate with less intrusion.
A new house and new school means it is a special week for George, Charlotte and Louis.
 |
| Adelaide Cottage |
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children spent the summer holidays in
the UK ahead of a very busy September.
There was a rumoured holiday in Tresco in the Isles of Scilly where they have visited in previous years. In addition the family travelled to Scotland to stay with The Queen at Balmoral Castle. The Duchess, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, nanny Maria and detectives travelled on an all economy regular airline service to Aberdeen Airport. William and George travelled separately.
It seems that the Duke and Duchess are reverting to the royal custom of family groups flying apart in case of an accident. When Catherine, William and Charlotte attended this summer's Commonwealth Games, the Duke piloted a helicopter with Charlotte onboard and the Duchess travelled by train where they all met up in Birmingham.
 |
| Catherine leaving Adelaide Cottage on Saturday |
The move from London means that George, Charlotte and Louis will be starting at a new school this week. Lambrook School near Ascot, is just a 10 minute drive from Adelaide Cottage. This will be Louis's first year of "big school" so I am sure that some photos will be issued by Kensington Palace.
