United in grief: William and Harry join mournful march
Prince Harry and Prince William have walked by the side of their grandmother's coffin in a procession through London, as Queen Elizabeth made her final journey from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall.
The brothers were united in their grief as they joined other senior members of the royal family, who were led by King Charles for the procession to see Queen Elizabeth’s coffin lie in state in parliament.
While Prince William wore regimental uniform, Prince Harry, no longer a senior working member of the royal family, was dressed in a dark mourning suit.
Also not in uniform was Prince Andrew, who walked alongside sister Princess Anne and brother Prince Edward.
As the journey from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall began, guns fired every minute at the nearby Hyde Park, as Big Ben tolled in unison.
Mourners were lining the streets to catch a glimpse of Her Majesty's coffin, and to be one of the first in line when the official lying in state period begins.
As the senior royals followed the procession, Kate, the Princess of Wales, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, Queen Consort Camilla and Sophie of Wessex travelled from Buckingham Palace to Westminster by car.
The emotional scenes were reminiscent of those at Princess Diana's funeral in 1997, almost 25 years ago to the day, where the young princes again followed in the procession of mourning.
“My mother had just died, and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands of people watching me while millions more did on television,” Prince Harry once told royal biographer Angela Levin.
“No child should lose their mother at such a young age and then have his grief observed by thousands of people.”
In the documentary Diana, My Mother, Prince William said, “I remember just feeling completely numb, disorientated, dizzy."
“And you keep asking yourself, ‘Why me?’ All the time, ‘Why? What have I done? Why? Why has this happened to us?’”
As Queen Elizabeth now rests in Westminster Hall, four days of lying in state will then begin until the funeral on September 19th.
Image credits: Getty Images