Prince Harry turns 38 a week after his grandmother, the Queen, passed away at Balmoral Castle.
The Duke of Sussex, who lives in the US with his wife Meghan Markle and their children Archie and Lilibet, is still in the UK as they prepare for Her Majesty’s funeral on Monday, September 19.
The Royal Family’s social media pages shared photos of Harry on his birthday, including one with the Duchess of Sussex in Australia in 2018 and another of the father-of-two with schoolchildren in Botswana.
The Queen’s final birthday message to her grandson read: “Wishing The Duke of Sussex a happy birthday today!”
Harry joined his brother Prince William and their father King Charles III leading the royal procession behind the late monarch’s coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall.
The Queen’s loved ones stood in formation facing the casket on its purple-covered catafalque during the service.
An emotional Harry seemed to falter as he was seen wiping his tears away.
Prince Edward and Sophie, the Countess of Wessex’s daughter, Lady Louise Windsor, and Princess Eugenie of York, were also seen crying during the service.
After the service, the Sussexes were seen holding hands after they curtsied and bowed to the coffin.
Judi James, a body language expert, said that Harry and Meghan’s holding hand gesture was needed.
“Inside the service the wives joined their husbands, but again the large spatial distances looked deliberate to create an air of formality,” she said.
“As they couples filed out they seemed to keep to this formation apart from Harry and Meghan, who moved closer and stretched their arms across the gap to hold hands in a mutual re-linking gesture,” Judi said.
She said that the gesture was ‘desperately important’ as it offered comfort, reassurance and support.
Harry paid tribute to the Queen, saying: “In celebrating the life of my grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen—and in mourning her loss—we are all reminded of the guiding compass she was to so many in her commitment to service and duty.”
“Granny, while this final parting brings us great sadness, I am forever grateful for all of our first meetings—from my earliest childhood memories with you, to meeting you for the first time as my Commander-in-Chief, to the first moment you met my darling wife and hugged your beloved great-grandchildren,” he added.
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