The
Queen
Her Majesty, 98, did not expect
to take the throne at such a young age. While her father King George VI’s
health declined, she did not have a chance to say goodbye to him as George
passed away while she was on tour in Kenya. Prince Philip broke the news to his
wife, who was only 25 at the time.
The Queen’s husband Prince
Philip passed away peacefully at Windsor Castle on 9 April 2021 due to old age.
His funeral took place eight days after his death and was attended by only 30
people, due to Covid-19 restrictions, including his grandson Prince Harry, who
flew in from Los Angeles without his wife Meghan Markle, who is heavily
pregnant and was advised not to travel by her doctors.
Queen
Maxima of the Netherlands
In 2018, Queen Maxima sadly
mourned the loss of her younger Inés Zorreguieta, who took her own life at her
home in Buenos Aires. Inés, who worked for the government, suffered from
depression and mental health issues. Maxima and the Dutch royal family flew to
Argentina for the funeral, and the queen subsequently cancelled her engagements
while she was mourning.
Two weeks later during a visit
to the UMC Groningen Proton Therapy Center, Maxima spoke about her sister as
she said: “I’m so pleased to be back at work at this centre, which helps
so many people suffering from cancer. People who are ill, but who haven’t lost
hope to recover. My sweet and talented younger sister Ines was also ill. She was
unable to find happiness and sadly couldn’t get better. Our only consolation is
to think that she has finally found peace.”
Grace
Kelly
The Monaco royal family had
suffered a great tragedy just eight years earlier, when Prince Rainier III’s
wife Grace Kelly died in a car accident. The Hollywood-Star-Turned-Princess was
driving back to Monaco from her country home when she had a stroke at the wheel
of her car. Grace, who was 52 at the time, drove off a cliff while her daughter
Princess Stephanie attempted but failed to regain control of the car. Grace was
taken to the Monaco Hospital with injuries to the brain and thorax and a
fractured femur, but she died the following night after her husband decided to
take her off life support.
Stefano
Casiraghi
Princess Caroline of Monaco
sadly lost her husband Stefano Casiraghi in 1990, when Stefano was involved in
a powerboat racing accident. The father-of-three had just celebrated his 30th
birthday and was planning to retire after the race. Stefano had escaped death
just weeks earlier when his boat blew up off the coast of Guernsey. Following
the tragic death, Caroline and her three young children Andrea, Charlotte and
Pierre relocated to a village in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in France to escape the
press.
Princess
Diana
All royal fans will remember
where they were when they heard Princess Diana had passed away. Prince
William and Prince Harry’s beloved mum, who was nicknamed the People’s
Princess, tragically died in a car accident in Paris. She was 36 at the time.
Her memory continues to live on, although William and Harry have been reluctant
to talk deeply about their late mother in the public eye.
On Diana’s 20th death
anniversary though, the royal brothers opened up about their mum in BBC and ITV
documentaries. In Diana, 7 Days, William recalled: “What was very peculiar
but obviously very touching was everybody crying. The wailing and crying and
people wanting to touch us… I was 15 and Harry was 12. It was like nothing you
can really describe; it was very unusual. There were shouting and literally
wailing at us, throwing flowers, yelling, sobbing, breaking down, people
fainted, collapsed.”
He added: “I couldn’t
understand why everyone wanted to cry as loud as they did, and show such
emotion as they did when they didn’t really know our mother. I did feel a bit
protective at times about her. I was like, ‘You didn’t even know her. Why and
how are you so upset?’ Now, looking back, over the last few years I’ve learned
to understand what it was she gave the world and a lot of people.”