Queen Elizabeth II participated in her first public engagement on Tuesday since the funeral of her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip. Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, died at the age of 99 and was laid to rest at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle earlier this month.
On Tuesday, the queen joined a video call with foreign diplomats — her first public appearance after the two-week national mourning period following her husband’s death.
Photos taken from Buckingham Palace show the queen, who turned 95 last week, smiling as she held virtual audiences with Ivita Burmistre, the ambassador for Latvia, and Sara Affoue Amani, the ambassador for the Ivory Coast.
Yui Mok/Pool/REUTERS
“There are more than 170 Ambassadors and High Commissions based in London,” the palace tweeted. “Each have an Audience of The Queen shortly after taking up their role.”
The queen is still at her Windsor Castle home, where the funeral was held. No longer wearing the black clothing she sported for the funeral and mourning period, she appeared dressed in a blue floral dress and pearls.
The queen had previously participated in some public duties following the prince’s death but prior to his funeral. On April 14, she hosted a ceremony where the Earl Peel formally stood down as Lord Chamberlain, whose office organizes royal ceremonies.
Yui Mok/Pool/REUTERS
The royal family gathered for Prince Philip’s scaled-down funeral on April 17. Due to COVID-19 social distancing guidelines, the queen sat alone.
On her birthday last week, the queen released a message thanking the public for their tributes to the late prince. She said she and her family are “deeply touched” by the “support and kindness” they’ve been shown in the wake of her husband’s death.
“While as a family we are in a period of great sadness, it has been a comfort to us all to see and to hear the tributes paid to my husband, from those within the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and around the world,” Queen Elizabeth II said in a statement. “My family and I would like to thank you all for the support and kindness shown to us in recent days. We have been deeply touched, and continue to be reminded that Philip had such an extraordinary impact on countless people throughout his life.”
