The Queen is supported by her cousins Princess Alexandra at memorial

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The Queen‘s extended family flocked to support the monarch today as they joined guests who were invited to attend Prince Philip’s memorial. 

The Queen’s cousin Princess Alexandra, 85, cut an elegant figure in an emerald green coat as she arrived at Westminster Abbey today, using a crutch to support her as she walked across the cobbles.   

Princess Michael of Kent and the Duke of Kent as well as their families were also in attendance.  

Prince Charles’ goddaughter India Hicks, who served as bridesmaid at the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, was among the earliest guests to arrive at the event today. 

She wore a lengthy blue coat dress  which featured a dramatic thigh slit for the occasion, which she paired with a matching fascinator. 

Meanwhile the Queen’s cousin Prince Michael of Kent arrived hand in hand with his wife, who looked elegant in a white dress, which she wore with an open black coat. 

The Duchess of Gloucester was also among the people in attendance today, wearing a navy blue coat and a light blue hat for the occasion 

Lady Gabriella Windsor arrived with her husband Thomas Kingston in tow. She was wearing a tasteful navy blue ensemble tied at the waist and watchin swede blue heels. 

Flora Ogilvy, who is the Queen’s cousin, attended in a black midi dress with her husband  

Lady Helen Taylor, the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, also wore black as she arrived at the Abbey escorted by her son Cassius. 

Once affectionately called ‘Melons’ by the press for her ample proportions – a nickname she admitted she hated – she married art dealer Timothy Verner Taylor in 1992.

She is a cousin of the Queen and 25th in line to the throne, and is regarded as one of the public’s favourite royals.

Her first child Columbus George Donald Taylor was born on 6 August, 1994 and is 41st in line to the throne. His brother Cassius Edward Taylor followed on 26 December, 1996. 

They welcomed Eloise Olivia Katherine Taylor on March 2, 2003 and later another daughter Estella Olga Elizabeth Taylor on 21 December 2004 – who are 43rd and 44th in line to the throne.

The two girls came to the attention of the press in June 2011 during the Trooping the Colour when the Duchess of Cambridge appeared enamoured with the pair.

Kate made a point of spending time with the girls, who were eight and six at the time, talking happily with them as the Queen’s official birthday parade and fly-past took place.

She bent down to talk to them and seemed just as interested in the children as she was the royal proceedings. 

Meanwhile George, Earl of St Andrews will attend alongside his wife Sylvana Tomaselli and their children, Lady Marina, Lady Amelia and Lord Downpatrick. 

Once dubbed the most beautiful member of the royal family, Lady Amelia is currently signed to Storm models, which represents the likes of Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne.

Lady Amelia has also modelled for the likes of Dolce & Gabbana and designed her own range of accessories in collaboration with Penelope Chilvers.

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent’s children, Lord Fredrick Windsor, with his wife Sophie Winkleman, and Lady Gabriella Kingston with her husband Thomas, are also due in attendance at the event. 

Sophie, who now lives in Chelsea, married Lord Freddie in September 2009 at Hampton Court Palace, after meeting him on a night out in Soho. 

The actress – who famously starred as Big Suze in Peep Show – lives in London, has two children with Fredrick, Maud, eight, and Isabella, five.

Maud, attends Thomas’s Battersea, the same school as his distant cousins Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

Since the couple tied the knot in 2009, mother-of-two Sophie says everyone has ‘looked after’ her, in particular the Queen and Prince Charles, who have been ‘wonderful’, and Prince William, whom she described as ‘heaven’.

Speaking to The Times, in 2020 she said: ‘I’ve been incredibly welcomed with open arms by all of them… They’d never tell me off at all if I wanted to play some [racy] role.’ 

The only son of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster, is also set to appear at  the event today alongside his sister Lady Rose Gilman and her husband George. 

The pair are the children of Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester – the youngest grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary. Prince Richard is a paternal cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. 

The funeral includes several elements the Duke had planned for his funeral at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle in April last year but which were forbidden by Covid restrictions at the time. 

Among them is the involvement of Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) gold award winners and Sea Cadets, his expressed wish for the congregation to sing the rousing hymn Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer, and for clergy from the royal estates of Windsor, Sandringham and Balmoral to play a special part.

His funeral at St George’s Chapel in Windsor was limited to just 30 mourners in the midst of the pandemic and mass singing was banned, with the Queen sitting alone in a mask.

Around 1,800 guests are due at today’s service, including British and European royalty, representatives of the many charities of which the duke was patron or president, Boris and Carrie Johnson, and Sir David Attenborough.

But the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are not returning from the US for the service

The Queen has recently been forced to pull out of a string of engagements because of ill health and old age. 

She was unable to attend the Commonwealth Day service this month because of concerns about her mobility and comfort.

Palace and Abbey aides are thought to have taken steps to ensure that the service, to be televised live on BBC One, is less taxing for the Queen.  

The service will gave thanks for the duke’s dedication to family, nation and Commonwealth and recognise the importance of his legacy in creating opportunities for young people, promoting conservation, and supporting the Armed Forces.

One of the elements planned for the funeral which has now been included in the service will see nine Gold Award holders from The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, plus representatives from UK Cadet Force Associations, line entry routes into Westminster Abbey.

Philip, who died in April last year aged 99, launched the DofE Award in 1956 and was Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Cadet Force, a role he first took up in 1953.

A tenth DofE gold award holder, Doyin Sonibare, 28, from London, will give a tribute to His Royal Highness’s legacy, recognising the impact of the Award on young people across the globe.

The Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, Dean of Westminster, will conduct the service and describe the duke in the Bidding as ‘a man of rare ability and distinction’ who ‘ever directed our attention away from himself.’

He will say: ‘He put privilege to work and understood his rank as a spur to service. Working at pace, with so many claims on his attention, he encouraged us to focus, as he was focussed, on the things that matter.

‘His was a discipline and character that seized opportunity and overcame obstruction and difficulty. We recall, with affection and respect, the sustained offering of a long life lived fully.’ 

It was the duke’s expressed wish that clergy from Windsor, Sandringham and Balmoral – known as The Queen’s domestic chaplains – played a part in his funeral service, but this was not possible due to the Covid restrictions.

Today the Reverend Kenneth MacKenzie Minister of Crathie Church, the regular place of worship of the British royal family when they are in residence at nearby Balmoral Castle, the Reverend Canon Jonathan Riviere, the Rector of Sandringham, and the Reverend Canon Martin Poll, Chaplain to the Royal Chapel of All Saints, Windsor Great Park, will offer prayers recognising Philip’s energy, spirit of adventure and ‘good stewardship of the environment’.

The service will also be attended by around 30 foreign royals, including Prince Albert of Monaco, Denmark’s Queen Margrethe, King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway, and Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia.