The touching mementos the Queen carried at Prince Philip's funeral
The Queen sat alone at Prince Philip's funeral on Saturday, but she reportedly carried two touching reminders of her husband with her.
Her Majesty and Prince Philip spent 73 years together and most likely exchanged countless gifts and mementos over that time period.
But the monarch is said to have chosen two simple items to carry with her as she lay her husband to rest.
In her small, black handbag, the Queen kept one of Philip's pocket squares and a photo of them from the earliest years of their marriage, according to reports.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, a royal insider said the Queen carried one of Philip's white handkerchiefs, which he used to use as pocket squares.
The handkerchiefs were made by his Savile Row tailors Kent & Haste, and the Queen kept one on her during the funeral service.
The second item was a photograph of her and Philip during their honeymoon in Malta, which was taken sometime between 1949 and 1951.
"The years the Queen spent in Malta were said to be among the happiest of her life," 9Honey's royal columnist Victoria Arbiter wrote in 2019.
"And the Mediterranean archipelago was the only place outside the UK she ever called home."
She and Philip even returned to Malta in 2007 to celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary, and it is said to hold a special place in the monarch's heart.
It's understandable, then, that the Queen would choose a photo of her and Philip there – at one of their happiest moments – to carry with her at his funeral on Saturday.
The Queen also addressed a handwritten letter to her late husband, which was placed alongside a wreath of white lilies, small white roses, and white freesia chosen by her.
The contents of the note have been kept private.
In the past, the Queen honoured her husband with loving comments, remarking when Philip turned 90: "He has, quite simply, been my strength and my stay all these years."
And it seems Philip was just as in love. In the early days of their relationship, he wrote in a letter: "Cherish Lilibet? I wonder if that word is enough to express what is in me?"