Four days after losing her husband Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II got back to work.
On Tuesday, the British monarch attended a retirement ceremony for a senior royal official. The news came from the Court Circular, the official record of royal engagements.
The announcement didn’t surprise a former senior aide.
“Her family will step up and be by her side, but she will carry on,” the palace source told People magazine on Wednesday. “She understands that she has a job to do, and [Philip] would have wanted her to crack on. She did do so when he retired from public life.”
QUEEN ELIZABETH CARRIES OUT FIRST DUTY SINCE PRINCE PHILIP’S DEATH: REPORT
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip tied the knot in 1947. They remained together until his death.
(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
“She will never abdicate because of duty and honor and public service is so deep to her, as it was for him,” another royal insider told the outlet.
The royal family is observing two weeks of mourning for the Duke of Edinburgh, who died on Friday at age 99. The palace has said members of the royal family will “undertake engagements appropriate to the circumstances” during the mourning period.
The queen, 94, attended a ceremony at Windsor Castle for Lord Chamberlain Earl Peel, who has retired as the royal household’s most senior official. He oversaw arrangements for the funeral of Prince Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, until handing over to his successor days before the duke’s death.
On Monday, Prince William shared a similar sentiment about carrying on in his moving tribute to Philip.
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Prince William took to social media where he shared a moving tribute in honor of his grandfather.
(Phil Walter/Getty Images)
“I will miss my Grandpa, but I know he would want us to get on with the job,” wrote the 38-year-old.
People magazine shared that while Elizabeth has scaled down her public engagements over the past year due to the coronavirus pandemic, she has been accompanied by family members on recent outings. In October, she and William teamed up to visit a top-level lab.
The outlet added that in late March, the queen stepped out solo to mark the Centenary of the Royal Australian Air Force at the CWGC Air Forces Memorial in Surrey.
Philip’s funeral will take place Saturday at Windsor Castle, with attendance limited to 30 because of coronavirus restrictions.
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Prince Philip’s funeral will be held on Saturday.
(Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)
Servicemen and women from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and Royal Air Force will take part in the funeral procession, and Philip’s coffin will be borne to St. George’s Chapel at the castle on a specially adapted Land Rover, which he designed himself.
Philip is survived by the queen and their four children — Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward — as well as eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.