This is the touching moment Princess Kate chose an eight-year-old girl from the Sandringham crowd to lay her Corgi toy in homage to the Queen among the carpet of flowers, leaving her ‘crying with joy’.
The 40-year-old new Princess of Wales and her husband William were yesterday at the late monarch’s Norfolk home seeing the sea of memorial tributes and mingling with onlookers.
Elizabeth Sulkovska, a little girl carrying a bouquet of flowers and a stuffed corgi, caught her attention. She struck up a conversation with her and offered to accompany her as she made her special present to Her Majesty.
As she described the incident, the eight-year-old grieved, her eyes welled with tears. ‘I went with her to put the flowers and the corgi down. She said, “Where do you think we should lay the flowers?” and I said, “We should put them there.”
Gregory Hill, the headmaster of Howard Junior School in King’s Lynn, said: ‘Elizabeth was overwhelmed; she cried with joy at being chosen. It’s just a wonderful, amazing opportunity.’
The passing of the Queen, according to Mr. Hill, ‘touched a young generation.’
He noted: ‘The older generation obviously knew the Queen for longer but young children that haven’t experienced the Queen for long on the throne still are greatly moved by her passing, and really want to do their best to celebrate her life and legacy and never forget her.’
Princess Kate and Prince William noticed a Paddington Bear tribute that students from Howard Hill Junior School had made and commented that the logo on the badge was the same as their school uniform. They will visit an army training center in Surrey later today to meet troops participating in the funeral arrangements.
The rest of King Charles III’s family took over while he took a well-earned break at his Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire yesterday. Sophie, Countess of Wessex hugged mourners in Manchester, while Princess Anne traveled to Glasgow.