The Queen Performs Her First Royal Duties Since Philip's Funeral

By Emily Dixon published 27 April 21

The Queen has performed her first royal duties since Prince Philip's funeral.
The monarch held virtual audiences Tuesday with the ambassador from the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, Her Excellency Sara Affoué Amani, and the ambassador from the Republic of Latvia, Her Excellency Ivita Burmistre.
Prince Philip's funeral took place on April 17.

On Tuesday, the Queen carried out her first official engagements since the funeral of her husband Prince Philip, which took place on April 17. The monarch held two virtual audiences from her Windsor Castle home, meeting with the ambassador from the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, Her Excellency Sara Affoué Amani, and the ambassador from the Republic of Latvia, Her Excellency Ivita Burmistre.

The ambassadors attended the virtual audiences from Buckingham Palace, the Telegraph reports. Both presented two formal diplomatic documents—their predecessors' Letters of Recall and their own Letters of Credence—to the Queen.

As the Telegraph reports, the royal family's official two week period of mourning for Prince Philip ended last Friday, April 23, enabling the royals to return to full time work. No longer required to wear black mourning dress, the Queen wore a blue floral dress, a pearl necklace, and a jewel brooch for her engagements Tuesday (see the photo here.)

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The Queen turned 95 last Wednesday, and marked the occasion with an official statement addressing the loss of her husband. "I have, on the occasion of my 95th birthday today, received many messages of good wishes, which I very much appreciate," she said. "While as a family we are in a period of great sadness, it has been a comfort to us all to see and hear the tributes paid to my husband, from those within the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and around the world."

"My family and I would like to thank you for all the support and kindness shown to us in recent days," the Queen continued. "We have been deeply touched, and continue to be reminded that Philip had such an extraordinary impact on countless people throughout his life."

(Image credit: Marie Claire)

Queen Elizabeth Appears at Prince Philip's Funeral

(Image credit: Marie Claire)

The Queen Returns to Work After Philip's Death

Emily Dixon

Emily Dixon is a British journalist who’s contributed to CNN, Teen Vogue, Time, Glamour, The Guardian, Wonderland, The Big Roundtable, Bust, and more, on everything from mental health to fashion to political activism to feminist zine collectives. She’s also a committed Beyoncé, Kacey Musgraves, and Tracee Ellis Ross fan, an enthusiastic but terrible ballet dancer, and a proud Geordie lass.