'May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest': Royals issue touching tribute to Queen after private ceremony
19 September 2022, 22:16 | Updated: 20 September 2022, 08:02
A newly-released photo of Queen Elizabeth II has been issued by the Royal Family with a touching tribute after a private ceremony where she was buried with Prince Philip.
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The image is very different from the many regal portraits and photos of Britain's longest serving monarch.
It shows her on moorland, walking with a stick as she holds a coat over her arm while wearing sunglasses and a head covering.
The Queen adored trips to the countryside, especially during her visits to her beloved Balmoral estate in Scotland, where she died aged 96.
The caption tweeted with the image read: "'May flights of Angels sing thee to thy rest.'
"In loving memory of Her Majesty The Queen. 1926 - 2022."
The photo was posted shortly after the private ceremony with members of the Royal Family at King George VI Memorial Chapel, which is part of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.
Earlier, the royals released a photo of the Queen aged 21, sitting for a photo with Prince Philip in 1947.
She has been reunited with Philip after being buried with him at Windsor.
The private ceremony followed what was expected to be one of the most-watched events ever, with billions thought to be set to tune in to watch the services at Westminster Abbey and, after a journey west by road, at St George's Chapel, where the Queen's coffin was lowered into the ground.
During the emotional day, King Charles had to fight back tears as religious figures like the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Prime Minister, Liz Truss, paid tribute to his mother with readings.
Read more: King Charles' final note to beloved Queen as monarch laid to rest
She had been carried into the chapel in a procession that was followed by the King, along with her children and grandchildren including Princes William and Harry.
The King, the Princess Royal, the Duke of York, the Earl of Wessex, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex met her coffin as it arrived at the castle after a procession along Windsor's Long Walk, in front of a packed crowd of tens of thousands of mourners.
She was then buried in the private ceremony on Monday evening.
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No other details of what was planned to be a non-broadcast, final, solemn goodbye from the royals were released.
But earlier on Monday, during the public Committal Service, the Dean of Windsor, the Rev David Conner, said: "Fruit, in a life of unstinting service to the Nation, the Commonwealth and the wider world, but also (and especially to be remembered in this place) in kindness, concern and reassuring care for her family and friends and neighbours."
Referring to a "rapidly changing and frequently troubled world", the Dean praised the late Queen's "calm and dignified presence".
He said the monarch's disposition "has given us confidence to face the future, as she did, with courage and with hope".
In a short message honouring his mother, King Charles left a handwritten note to the monarch, which said: "In loving and devoted memory. Charles R."
