Camilla and the Queen’s grandchildren watch tearfully over vigil for the late monarch

Members of the royal family were pictured looking solemn and emotional as they watched the Queen’s children guard her coffin in a vigil this evening.

King Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward repeated their ceremonial Vigil of Princes that they had first carried out at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh as their mother the Queen lies in state.

As the children gathered again to pay their respects to their mother at Westminster Hall in London, where the Queen will lie in state until her funeral on Monday, other members of the royal family, including Queen Consort Camilla, were in the stands watching in solemn silence.

Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi appeared visibly moved as he watched over the vigil next to Princess Eugenie (centre) and Princess Beatrice (right)

Prince Andrew, the Queen’s second son, was permitted to wear his military uniform as he paid his respects to his mother, after King Charles lifted a ban on the Duke of York donning the outfit as he is no longer a working royal.

As Andrew, 62, who served in the Falklands, wore the uniform and stood around his mother’s coffin, his daughters Princess Beatrice, 34, and Princess Eugenuie, 32, watched their father pay his respects. 

They were joined by Beatrice’s husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 38, who appeared visibly moved by the vigil and put his hand to his face, as if he was wiping away tears.

Also in the stands watching the vigil were Princess Anne’s husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, who had served as the Queen’s equerry from 1986 and developed a close relationship with Her late Majesty.

Members of the royal family looked solemn as they watched in silence while the Queen’s children took part in the vigil, with Mike Tindall bowing his head

Members of the public filed past Her late Majesty’s coffin while her children stood around in silence with their heads to the floor to pay their respects

Members of the public who witnessed the ceremony had been queueing for hours outside in a line that stretches all the way back to Southwark Park

King Charles (pictured forefront), Princess Anne (right) Prince Andrew (back centre) and Prince Edward (back left) entered Westminster Hall to stand guard over their mother’s coffin in a ceremonial Vigil of Princes

Prince Andrew (back left) was allowed to wear his military uniform to take part in the ceremony after wearing a suit for a similar vigil in Edinburgh on Monday evening

Sir Tim has been by the Princess Royal’s side since her mother passed away on 8 September, accompanying Anne in the car journey from the Balmoral Estate to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh behind the Queen’s coffin.

Other members of the Princess Royal’s family could be seen in the stands watching over tonight’s vigil, including her daughter Zara Tindall, 41, her husband and former rugby player Mike, 41, and their two eldest children Mia, eight, and Lena, four.

The young girls, who had their hair tied back in French plaits, leaned over the edge of the stands to get a better look at what was happening below.

Other young royals present at the vigil were Lady Louise Windsor, 18, and her younger brother James, Viscount Severn, 14. 

Prince Edward’s children were accompanied by Sophie Wessex, 57, whom it was announced will receive many of the Queen’s former royal patronages following her death.

Sophie, Countess of Wessex, appeared to be fighting back tears last Saturday as she stepped outside the Balmoral Estate to look at tributes and messages of condolence that had been left by members of the public to the late monarch.

The mother-of-two was said to have an incredibly close relationship with her mother-in-law and referred to her as ‘mama’ – and royal sources told the Mirror she was likely to become patron of the Women’s Institute and Dog’s Trust.

As the Queen’s grandchildren including Zara Tindall and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie attended the vigil, King Charles’s children Prince William and Prince Harry did not appear to be in attendance. 

However the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex are expected to attend another, first-of-its-kind vigil to pay their respects to their grandmother at Westminster Hall tomorrow night, in which they will be joined by their cousins. 

The partners of each of the Queen’s grandchildren are not expected to attend, but in another gesture of respect from King Charles, Harry will be allowed to wear his military uniform despite no longer being a working royal.