Prince George of Wales and Princess Charlotte of Wales will attend their great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral, according to an order of service for the ceremony released by Buckingham Palace on Sunday.
Nine-year-old George and 7-year-old Charlotte will walk behind the Queen's coffin as it is carried up the aisle of Westminster Abbey before the service Monday morning.
Based on historical precedent, the prince and princess — who are second in line and third in line for the throne, respectively — are young to be attending such a solemn official event. They did not attend the funeral of their great-grandfather Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in April (although, because of the coronavirus pandemic, there were strict guidelines for how many could attend the ceremony). The youngest member of the royal family to attend an official funeral in recent history appears to be Princess Beatrice of York, who was 12 years old at the memorial service for her great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, on March 30, 2002.
The palace did not say whether or not 4-year-old Prince Louis will be attending (although, given his age and antics during the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations, it seems somewhat unlikely).
George and Charlotte have had a greater place in the spotlight over the past year. For example, they took part in Trooping the Colour for the first time in June.
Here are the other members of the royal family who will process behind the Queen's coffin inside Westminster Abbey:
- King Charles III
- Queen Camilla
- Anne, Princess Royal
- Vice Admiral Tim Laurence (Anne's husband)
- Prince Andrew, the Duke of York
- Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar
- Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Forfar
- William, Prince of Wales
- Catherine, Princess of Wales
- Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex
- Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
- David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon (the Queen's nephew, son of Princess Margaret)
- Peter Phillips (Anne's son)
- Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (the Queen's first cousin)
- Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (the Queen's first cousin)
- Prince Michael of Kent (the Queen's first cousin)
The funeral begins at 10 a.m. local time. Heads of state and members of royal families from around the world have flocked to London to pay their final respects to the Queen.
In addition to the state funeral at Westminster Abbey, a committal service will be held at St. George's Chapel in Windsor at 4 p.m. Although there will be another procession at this ceremony, George and Charlotte will not participate, according to the order of service. It is not known whether they will be in attendance.
At the conclusion of this service, the Queen's coffin will be lowered into the Royal Vault to be placed alongside the coffin of her father, King George VI, and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.