A somber pair. Meghan MarkleRode with Sophie WessexDuring the ceremonial procession of the late Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday September 14.
The Duchess of Sussex, 41, and the Countess of Wessex, 57, shared a car as the queen’s coffin was moved from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, where the late monarch will lie in state for several days until her funeral on Monday, September 19.
The BenchAuthor and former publicist rode in one of the black town cars that accompanied the procession on Wednesday. Meghan’s husband, Prince Harry, walked beside his brother. Prince WilliamWith their father King Charles III, and the king’s siblings. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were also present to greet the queen’s casket on Tuesday, September 13, at Buckingham Palace.
Sophie is the wife of the queen’s youngest son, Prince Edward. The duo — who tied the knot in 1999 — share daughter Louise, 18, and son James, 14.
After Meghan and Harry, 37, gave their explosive interview last year to CBS, Sophie and Harry, 58, laughed about it when they were asked. “What interview?” Sophie joked during a June 2021 Q&A with The Telegraph. The Earl of Wessex, for his part, quipped that he hadn’t heard about it.
When the queen’s husband, Prince Philip, died last year, Sophie gave an emotional interview about how much the royal family missed her father-in-law. The Duke of Edinburgh, who was 99 years old, died in April 2021.
“He’s left a giant-sized hole in our lives,” she said during a June 2021 appearance on BBC Radio 5 Live, noting that the coronavirus pandemic had “skewed” the way the family was coping with the loss. “I think the whole grieving process is probably likely for us to take a lot longer. … Because if you’re not living with somebody 24/7, the immediate loss isn’t necessarily felt in the same way. It’s only when you would do the normal things that you would have done with them and you suddenly realize that they are not there, that you really start to have a, ‘Oh, my goodness’ moment.”
Edward walked along with the king and his siblings on Wednesday during the procession. Princess AnneAnd Prince Andrew. The journey from Buckingham Palace to Westminster marks the last time the queen’s coffin will be moved ahead of the funeral. Andrew, 62 and Harry, 62, wore civilian clothes for the procession, rather than their military uniforms.
The casket will be taken to Windsor Castle after the Westminster Abbey ceremony on Monday. Philip’s coffin will also be moved so that it will lie next to Elizabeth’s. When he died last year, he was interred in the Royal Vault at St George’s Chapel, but the location was never meant to be his final resting place.
Continue scrolling to see more photos taken by Sophie and Meghan during the procession.
