'To my mother, The Queen': Princess Anne writes a moving letter

After Queen Elizabeth II's casket was brought to the Buckingham Palace on Tuesday night, her daughter Princess Anne wrote a moving letter in her honour.

Princess Anne who accompanied the Queen's coffin in some of the journeys from Scotland's Balmoral Estate to central London wrote that "witnessing the love and respect shown by so many on these journeys has been both humbling and uplifting."

In her letter she also thanked each and every one who shared the royal family's sense of loss.


Anne, Princess Royal, is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of King Charles III. She is 16th in the line of succession to the British throne and has been Princess Royal since 1987.

In her letter, shared on the official handle of the British royal family along with a photograph of the two from earlier years, Princess Anne said it was "an honour and a privilege" to accompany the late Queen on her final journeys.

Princess Anne wrote, "I was fortunate to share the last 24 hours of my dearest Mother’s life. It has been an honour and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys. Witnessing the love and respect shown by so many on these journeys has been both humbling and uplifting."

"We will all share unique memories. I offer my thanks to each and every one who share our sense of loss. We may have been reminded how much of her presence and contribution to our national identity we took for granted. I am also so grateful for the support and understanding offered to my dear brother Charles as he accepts the added responsibilities of The Monarch," the rest of the letter read.

The Princess Royal signed off her letter with the words: " To my mother, The Queen, thank you."

The casket will be taken Wednesday on a horse-drawn gun carriage to the Houses of Parliament, where the queen's body will lie in state for four days before Monday’s funeral at Westminster Abbey.