Royals Rally Round Brave Queen

Family unite to give support days before 95th birthday. Her Majesty seeks solace walking corgis

- Richard Palmer

Senior members of the Royal Family are rallying round the Queen as she adjusts to life without Philip.

Family visits are back after the easing of lockdown and leading Royals will join her on public events more often. News of the support comes as mourning for the Duke continues until Thursday, the day after the Queen turns 95. She drove out of Windsor Castle yesterday, apparently to take her beloved corgis for a walk around the grounds of nearby Frogmore Cottage.

The trip would also have offered the monarch the chance to meet Prince Harry, who is staying there.

It has been suggested he might delay his return to his pregnant wife Meghan in the US so that he could help his grandmother mark her birthday on Wednesday.

The Queen had always planned for a quiet celebration, following the Duke of Edinburgh’s lengthy hospital stay, but even that is likely to be more muted still following his funeral on Saturday.

Prince Andrew underlined recently that the Royal Family would come together to help his mother after the death of her 99-year-old husband.

He said last week: “The Queen, as you would expect, is an incredibly stoic person. She described [the Duke’s passing] as having left a huge void in her life but we, the family, the ones that are close, are rallying round to make sure that we’re there to support her.”

Although she will continue with some solo public appearances, senior family members will step up the number of engagements at which they appear alongside her, sources close to the monarch predicted.

Many official royal events have been cancelled until the mourning period is over, although some will continue if deemed appropriate.