Queen Elizabeth Makes First Public Appearance In Months As She Pays Tribute To Prince Philip

Buckingham Palace confirmed the Queen, 95, would attend the service just hours before it was due to start on Tuesday, marking her first major public event in more than five months after testing positive for Covid in February and problems with her mobility.

The monarch arrived at Westminster Abbey, where she was coronated and married Prince Philip, accompanied by her son Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, in his first public appearance since being stripped of royal titles and settling a U.S. civil sex assault case brought by Virginia Giuffre.

Prince Philip died in April 2021, during strict Covid regulations in England that limited gatherings and the memorial service included features like hymns and readings originally intended for his funeral.

The service paid tribute to the Duke’s commitment to family, the U.K. and the Commonwealth as well as the hundreds of charitable organizations he patronized, with the guestlist including two representatives each from more than 200 charities and a tribute from a Duke of Edinburgh Award holder, Prince Philip’s scheme to help young peoples’ personal development.

Other senior members of Britain’s royal family—including the four closest heirs to the throne Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince George and Princess Charlotte—and monarchs from Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium and Sweden also attended the ceremony.

Prince Philip’s grandson Prince Harry and his spouse Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, said before the service they would not travel from their U.S. home to attend the service and the Duke is currently pursuing legal action against the Home Office over security arrangements when he visits the country.