ROYALS IN SAD FINAL TRIBUTE TO QUEEN

EMOTIONAL FAMILY SEND-OFF HOURS AFTER COUNTRY CAME TO STANDSTILL FOR FUNERAL

- Robert Jobson and Nicholas Cecil

THE royal family paid an emotional final farewell to the Queen as she was laid to rest alongside Prince Philip during a private service at Windsor Castle. Away from the intense public glare of the state funeral, only King Charles and close family were present for the interment of Britain’s longest-serving monarch in the tiny King George VI Memorial Chapel.

“Yes there were tears,” said one senior source. “Of course there were. But at least Her Majesty is at peace now.” The royal Twitter account published a picture of the Queen taken at Balmoral in 1971, with the words: “May flights of Angels sing thee to thy rest. In loving memory of Her Majesty The Queen.”

The quote is from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The words are said by Horatio as he pays tribute to his dying friend Hamlet in the tragedy.

They were used by King Charles on September 12 in his speech to MPs and peers in Parliament’s Westminster Hall, where the Queen later lay in state for five days.

The Prince and Princess of Wales also paid a final goodbye to the Queen, describing her as “a mother, a grandmother and a great grandmother” in a tweet. The royal family is observing another week of mourning.

Family members are not expected to carry out official engagements, and flags at royal residences will remain at half-mast until 8am after the final day of royal mourning.

The Queen passed away, aged 96, at Balmoral Castle on September 8, after a 70-year reign. As she was nearing the end of her life, she told a church leader: “I have no regrets,” and was also making light-hearted remarks.