Queen Elizabeth II donned a face mask in public for the first time during the coronavirus pandemic when attending a brief ceremony at Westminster Abbey last week to mark the centenary of the burial of the Unknown Warrior.
Queen Elizabeth II
London:
While the 94-year-old monarch has been seen in public on several occasions over the past few months, she had not been pictured wearing a face covering until now.
On Wednesday, during her first public engagement in London since March, she wore a black mask that was edged with white. Pictures of the ceremony were officially released late Saturday.
“It was wonderful to see Her Majesty in such good spirits and good health," Dr. David Hoyle, the Dean of Westminster, said after the service.
“We talked about the centenary and the life of the abbey. This is the place where she was married and she''s conscious of those associations.”
The brief service was attended by just the dean and the queen''s equerry, Lieutenant Colonel Nana Kofi Twumasi-Ankrah. The queen left a bouquet of orchids and myrtle, based on her own wedding bouquet from November 1947. She bowed her head after a prayer from the dean.
The queen had requested a ceremony take place as the pandemic had derailed plans for the centenary of the interment of the Unknown Warrior.
Conversations