Princess Anne made history on Monday by taking part in a traditional ceremony alongside her brothers.
The 72-year-old Princess Royal and her brothers King Charles III, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward reunited Monday evening in Edinburgh, Scotland, for a symbolic watch over their mother Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin as it lay in state at St. Giles’ Cathedral, according to People.
Princess Anne, dressed in her military uniform, became the first female member of the British royal family to take part in the somber royal tradition known as the Vigil of the Princes.
For about 10 minutes, the siblings joined the Royal Company of Archers to symbolically guard their mother’s casket, which was draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland and topped with a floral wreath and the Crown of Scotland, according to IB Times.
As well-wishers came to pay their respects in the cathedral, King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward stood guard over their mother, who died Thursday at the age of 96.
The Vigil of the Princes is being performed for the third time. The first time was in 1936, after the death of the Queen’s grandfather, King George V. The second occurred during the Queen Mother’s funeral events in 2002, according to The Independent.
The Vigil of the Princes on Monday marked the second time Queen Elizabeth II’s three sons have ceremoniously protected a casket as it laid in state.
Two decades ago, the brothers and their cousin David Armstrong Jones, the son of Queen Elizabeth II’s sister Princess Margaret, guarded the Queen Mother’s coffin for the same rite.
In addition to attending the vigil, Princess Anne accompanied her mother’s coffin on the six-hour journey from Balmoral Castle to Edinburgh on Sunday and walked behind the casket as it moved from the palace to St. Giles’ on Monday.
The coffin of Queen Elizabeth will remain at the medieval cathedral overnight so that staff from the Palace of Holyroodhouse can pay their respects. It will be flown to London on Tuesday, and Princess Anne will accompany her mother’s remains once more.
When the casket arrives at Buckingham Palace, a rehearsal for the procession to the Palace of Westminster will take place.
On September 19, the late British monarch will be honored with a state funeral at Westminster Abbey in Central London. The day has been declared a bank holiday by King Charles, so schools and businesses in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland will be closed.
It will be the first time since the 18th century that a monarch’s funeral will be held at Westminster Abbey.
Buckingham Palace announced Monday that only working members of the royal family with military rank will wear military uniforms at the Queen’s state funeral.
Prince Harry and Prince Andrew are expected to appear in mourning dresses or dark suits, as they are no longer working royals.
However, a special exception was granted for the Duke of York to wear a military uniform at the final vigil as a sign of respect for the late monarch, according to People.
