The Queen sat alone as she delivered her speech on Tuesday during the State Opening of Parliament.
In previous years, the Sovereign’s Throne was placed alongside a Consort’s Throne in the House of Lords.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, sat alongside The Queen for the majority of speeches Her Majesty has delivered to Parliament.
In recent years, it has been the Prince of Wales who has occupied the Consort’s Throne alongside his mother.
However, this year, owing to the death of Prince Philip and social distancing between two separate households, there was nobody available to sit next to the monarch.
A couple of metres away, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall sat on Chairs of State to observe proceedings.
Although they were not permitted to sit next to each other in the House of Lords, Prince Charles did support his mother, holding her hand as she walked down some steps.
The Sovereign’s Throne and the Consort’s Throne are permanently based at Houghton Hall in Norfolk and are transported to Westminster as required.
As seen in the image below, the Throne of the monarch sits slightly higher than that of her consort in a symbol of her authority.
The Prince of Wales supported his mother during the proceedings, holding her hand as they walked to the House of Lords.
This was the first public engagement The Queen has attended since the death of Prince Philip on April 9.
