Queen Elizabeth II and the rest of the Royal Family are currently mourning the death of her husband, Prince Philip, who died on April 9 at Windsor Castle at the age of 99. As with most things royal, there are certain mourning traditions that the family is expected to follow.
The Queen, however, is an independent woman and
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Mourning Tradition Of The Royal Family
The way the Royal Family mourns is typically dictated by a series of traditions that have been in place for years.
However, Queen Elizabeth, who turns 95 tomorrow, is bucking at least one of these traditions to do things her own way when it comes to mourning the man she was married to for 73 years.
There is a longtime tradition that during her period of mourning, the Queen use black-edged stationery. This tradition has been in place since the 1861 of Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria.
Devastated by his death, Victoria began writing on paper with a thick black border and matching envelopes in order to signal to those that she was corresponding with that she was in mourning.
Queen Elizabeth Bucks Mourning Tradition
However, reports obtained by People Magazine state that Queen Elizabeth will break from this tradition a bit during her mourning period for Prince Philip by instead using her own personalized stationery.
The personalized stationery will feature her personal crest in black during her mourning period. The Queen’s crest is usually red.
Her Majesty reportedly made this pivot to quietly honor her husband’s famously modern and no-nonsense attitude when it came to these types of things.
Queen Elizabeth shared a never-before-seen photo of her with Prince Philip ahead of his funeral earlier today. pic.twitter.com/JULbq3gOUe
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) April 17, 2021
Though the Queen will be bucking this longstanding tradition, the rest of the Royal Family will use the traditional black-edged stationery of mourning.
Queen Elizabeth did keep this tradition going with the handwritten letter that she left on Philip’s coffin, however, as she used the black-edged stationery for that final love letter.
Related: Queen Elizabeth Breaks Her Silence With First Public Statement Since Prince Philip’s Death
The Queen Will Not be Abdicating
Prince Philip’s death has been understandably difficult for the Queen, as she was seen wiping away tears while sitting alone at his funeral last Saturday.
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Despite her immense grief, those close to her have said that there is no chance that she will abdicate the throne in the wake of his passing.
“She will never abdicate because of duty and honor and public service is so deep in her, as it was for him,” a royal aide insider said, according to Yahoo News.
A senior aide in the palace added, “Her family will step up and be by her side, but she will carry on. She understands that she has a job to do, and [Philip] would have wanted her to crack on. She did do so when he retired from public life.”
The Queen’s 95th birthday tomorrow will surely be bittersweet.
Please join us in saying a prayer for Queen Elizabeth II and the entire Royal Family during this difficult time.
Read next: Harry And William Hold Two-Hour ‘Peace Talk’ With Charles After Prince Philip’s Funeral
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