Queen Elizabeth II.Photo: Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty
As the world mournsQueen Elizabeth, her closest circle is especially heartbroken.
On September 8, Buckingham Palace announced that the monarch “peacefully” died at age 96 at her belovedBalmoral Castlein Scotland. Now, her loyal personal staff “are devastated,” a close source tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story.
“They are incandescent with grief,” the insider says. “However much you are prepared for it, after a lifetime of service, it was still a terrible shock.”
Many team members worked for the Queen for years and will have the chance to pay their respects at her committal service on Monday.
Queen Elizabeth II Visits Thames Hospice - July 2022.Kirsty O’Connor-WPA Pool/Getty Images
Around 4 p.m.,King Charles III,Queen Camillaand the rest of the family will fill the pews ofSt. George’s Chapelfor a committal service. More than 800 people are expected to attend, though the event will have a more intimate feel than the state funeral.
The guests present at Westminster Abbey will not follow for the ceremony at Windsor — instead, the Queen’s personal staff and those who worked on her estates will be at the smaller ceremony.
Queen Elizabeth’s coffin.DANIEL LEAL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
In one touching tribute,Queen Elizabeth’s personal piper will also play a lament in her honor. When the service wraps, the Queen’s family members will retire to Windsor Castle for a quiet reception.
The ceremonies end around 7:30 p.m., whenQueen Elizabethis privately interred in St. George’s Chapel.
She will be buried besidePrince Philip, her husband of 73 years, and near her sister,Princess Margaret, and her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
source: people.com
