Princess Anne makes history by standing vigil at her mother’s coffin

Princess Anne made history this evening, as the first royal woman to take part in the Vigil of the Princes.  

All four of Her Majesty’s children gathered around her coffin today in a poignant evening vigil inside St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh.

King Charles III, Anne, the Princess Royal, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward took their places by the royal coffin at 7.20pm this evening, following a short procession.

Princess Anne, 72, who wore her navy ceremonial uniform, and Prince Edward, kept their eyes fixed towards the floor during the 20-minute vigil.

Uniform: Princess Anne, who wore her navy ceremonial uniform for the vigil, kept her eyes fixed on the floor as she stood by her mother’s coffin

Meanwhile, Prince Andrew kept his eyes closed for a period of time, and King Charles, who appeared to be teary-eyed at times, kept his hands joined and also looked towards the floor as members of the public filed past.

Members of the public – who have been filing past the coffin in their thousands throughout the afternoon – were briefly held back to allow the royals to take their place. 

However, they continued to file past once the vigil began, offering them an extraordinary perspective on the historic moment. 

Today’s Vigil of the Princes marked the first time the tradition has taken place since 2002.

There have been two such vigils in the past: in 1936, with the death of King George V in 1936, and in 2002, during the Queen Mother’s funeral.

That vigil was attended by the royal’s four grandsons – King Charles, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, and the Earl of Snowdon.

The Queen’s children are pictured arriving at the church, just ahead of the vigil, which saw Princess Anne (left) make history as the first royal woman to stand vigil

Princess Anne (centre) appeared to keep her eyes fixed on the floor during the 20-minute vigil

An aerial photo showing the Queen’s four children walking down the central aisle of St Giles’ Cathedral towards the Queen’s coffin 

The men stood guard over the Queen Mother’s casket in Westminster Hall, as people walked by to pay their respects. 

King George V’s vigil in 1936 was attended by his sons King George VI, Henry, Duke of Gloucester and George, Duke of Kent.

The death of George VI was not marked by a Vigil of Princes because he only had daughters, no sons, and no grandsons of an appropriate age. 

As no other royal women have attended a vigil, Princess Anne made history tonight, as the first.  

King Charles stands vigil beside his grandmother, the Queen Mother’s coffin while it lies-in-state at Westminster Hall in 2002

Prince Edward (far left) also stood vigil by his grandmother’s coffin. The vigil marked the second time the tradition took place, after its first incarnation in 1936, for the death of George V

The Queen Consort and Countess of Wessex sat on seats opposite the coffin while the vigil, which began at 7.46pm and finished at 7.56pm, took place in the ancient cathedral. 

The Archers have been completing 20-minute periods of standing guard at the coffin, which will remain at St Giles’ for 24 hours before it is taken to London to lie in state.

Members of the crowd cheered as Charles arrived at the cathedral, and as he departed. As he drove past them, they took pictures and video and said: ‘Here he is. Here he is. It’s the King.’

Charles waved at onlookers waiting at the barriers to see him. One woman was heard to say: ‘I missed him earlier and travelled up from Glasgow to see him. I waited five hours – I finally saw him.’