The Queen’s cousins sat together to hear the official declaration of Her Late Majesty’s death and the proclamation of King Charles III.
The Duke of Kent, one of Queen Elizabeth II’s closest relatives, looked sombre as he sat at St. James’s Palace, London waiting for the Garter King of Arms to appear on the balcony overlooking Friary Court to make the official proclamation.
At his side was the Duchess of Gloucester who seemed to lean in and offer him some words of comfort. The Duke of Kent’s younger brother, Prince Michael of Kent, was also present.
The three took their places discreetly at the side of the ceremony. In the main square were military as well as 800 people invited in to watch the historic announcement.
The Queen was particularly close to the Duke of Kent who remained one of her greatest supports within the Royal Family throughout her 70 year reign.
On February 6th 1952, when she became Monarch on the death of her father, King George VI, he was a sixteen year old and already Duke of Kent after the death of his own father in a plane crash in 1942. He was at school in Switzerland and returned home where he walked in the procession behind the King’s coffin.
This is the first appearance of members of the wider Royal Family since the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
