The mood was sombre at Windsor Castle today as mourners came to pay their respects after the death of Prince Philip.
A small crowd gathered outside the gates of Windsor Castle where flowers were allowed to be laid.
Christina and Nadia travelled from Luton to lay flowers. Christina said: “We feel very sad of course.
“We are not native to England but we feel as though England has embraced us and supported us. The Queen is like our mother.
“We related to Philip as he was a bit of an outsider and he has a foreign background so he definitely laid the path for us.
“The Queen and Prince Philip came to Luton 20 years ago so I felt like we owe it to them to make this journey.”
Prince Philip was at Windsor Castle when he died and both he and the Queen spent most of their time at the castle during the pandemic.
Monroe, 12, from Windsor, said he felt very sad about the news and wanted to pay his respects.
His grandmother said: “We absolutely love the royals.
“I took my daughter to London when Diana died and I think it’s really important that we are all allowed to pay our respects.”
Coronavirus lockdown restrictions led the palace to request that donations are made instead of laying flowers in an attempt to stop crowds gathering.
Windsor resident Suki Kent said she felt it was important to come out and explain to her children the historical importance of the day.
“The last time we came out here was for a celebration, for Harry and Meghan‘s wedding, but this time we’re here for a very different reason,” she said.
“I’ve had a lot of messages actually from people abroad who are sending their condolences which shows he’s just had such an impact on so many different countries.
“We’ve got pictures of him when he visited our temple in Hounslow so we definitely feel a connection there.”
Staff outside the castle said the tributes to Prince Philip would be collected this evening and put on display for the family to view in private.
Vanessa Cowland and Fay Lambourne were surprised the crowd was small but did note had coronavirus restrictions not been in place the scene would have been very different.
Cowland said: “For me, Prince Philip has really been a key part of my whole life. We’ve been to a lot of royal occasions and it’s just a very sad day.”
Prince Philip will remain at Windsor Castle while the Queen enters into eight days of mourning.
