Followers of the royal family have been wondering how things have been for the Queen after Prince Philip’s death for some time now. At first, the monarch took a short time off from royal duties immediately following the death of her husband to grieve. It took another six months, however, for Queen Elizabeth to speak publicly about the late Duke of Edinburgh.

Queen Elizabeth, along with her son Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, visited Scotland on Saturday, October 2 to attend the opening ceremony for the sixth session of the Scottish Parliament, according to People. During her address to Parliament, the 95-year-old monarch opened up about her late husband for the first time since his death in April 2021. The Queen recounted their shared “affection” for Scotland and the many “happy memories” they experienced there together.

“I have spoken before of my deep and abiding affection for this wonderful country, and of the many happy memories Prince Philip and I always held of our time here,” the Queen said, per People. “It is often said that it is the people that make a place, and there are few places where this is truer than in Scotland, as we have seen in recent times.”

Scotland has always held a special place in Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip‘s hearts, as it’s where the royal couple typically spent their summer holidays at Balmoral Castle. The couple spent their final summer there together in 2020. The monarch later visited Balmoral alone in July 2021 following Prince Philip’s death, marking the first summer holiday she spent at the castle without him in decades.

The Prince consort’s death was announced the morning of Friday, April 9, 2021, by Buckingham Palace. In a statement by Queen Elizabeth, the palace revealed that the duke passed away at the age of 99 at home at Windsor Castle. “It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,” the statement began. “His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. Further announcements will be made in due course. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.”

Prince Philip Revealed by Ingrid Seward

Image: Courtesy of Atria Books.

For more about Prince Philip’s life, check out Ingrid Seward’s biography about the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip Revealed, Seward, a Majesty magazine editor who has been covering the British royal family for decades for, unravels the “enigma” that we know as Prince Philip. From his early childhood in Paris to his mother’s battle with schizophrenia to his military service in World War II, Seward covers topics that many royal followers may not know about or haven’t seen on The Crown. The book also discusses how Prince Philip was “initially distrusted” by the royal court before he found his place in Buckingham Palace.

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