She was completely alone.
With coronavirus restrictions firmly in place, a few of Queen Elizabeth II’s kinfolk sat in small household teams with kids and spouses to mourn Prince Philip, her husband. But she sat alone at the finish of a pew, and for many watching the proceedings from house, the sight of the newly widowed queen, who will flip 95 subsequent week, was maybe the saddest picture of the day.
“These pictures really bring home one of the horrible truths of the pandemic,” the British journalist Jane Merrick said on Twitter: “that there can be no tearful hugs with reunited family right at the time when you need it most.”
One Twitter person, referring to a widely shared photo of Elizabeth, stated it was the first picture from the funeral that made her tear up. “She looks so alone there, more a widow today than a queen.”
Many on social media remarked on the queen’s seeming frailty, saying she regarded “little” or “more vulnerable.” And of those that lamented her having to grieve her husband in an period of social distancing, some took pains to note that their sympathy transcended any emotions about the monarchy.
“Not a royalist, but feel a lump in my throat for #QueenElizabeth,” one said. “Her beloved husband of 73 years, by her side every day; I can’t imagine. Her lonely image was heartbreaking.”
