Queen Elizabeth II will finally be put to rest today (September 19) as the UK will witness its first state funeral for a monarch since her father King George had his in 1952.
The Queen passed away on September 8 at the age of 96 in a death that has stunned the world and left the UK in a state of national mourning.
With her death comes the end of an era as Queen Elizabeth II was the longest-serving monarch in British history, reigning for over 70 years.
READ MORE:Unseen portrait of beaming Queen Elizabeth II released on eve of her funeral
As Her Majesty is put to rest alongside her husband Prince Philip, we look at the relationship she had with her grandsons Prince William and Harry, their respective wives Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle, as well as her third child, Prince Andrew.
Prince Harry himself spoke of the "special relationship" he had with the Queen and spoke more in depth about his bond with his grandmother in an interview NBC News’ Today show in April 2022.
"Being with her, it was great, it was just so nice to see her. She's on great form," Harry said.
“She's always got a great sense of humour with me, and I'm just making sure that she's, you know, protected, and got the right people around her.”
He added: "We have a really special relationship; we talk about things she can't talk about with anyone else.”
Meghan called the Queen an "incredible woman" when meeting her and spoke fondly of a solo trip she took with with her to attend various Royal engagements.
She said: “I just really loved being in her company. We were in the car going between engagements.
“And she has a blanket that sits across her knees for warmth, and it was chilly. And she was like, ‘Meghan, come on’, and put it over my knees as well.
“It made me think of my grandmother, where she’s always been warm and inviting and really welcoming.”
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Prince William was said to have grown closer to the Queen after he and Kate moved to Windsor in order to be nearer to the late monarch as he took on more of her royal duties.
Caught countless times sharing a laugh, William and his grandmother certainly had a close relationship and the now Prince of Wales had kind words to say about his gran when making an ITV documentary for her 90th birthday.
He said: "Growing up, having this figurehead, having this stability above me has been incredible.
"I have been able to explore, understand, slightly carve my own path. I greatly appreciate and value that protection."
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Despite reports that the Queen was initially unsure of Kate Middleton becoming William's wife-to-be, that reluctance was soon dashed as she formed a close bond with the Princess of Wales.
In a rare privilege, the Queen allowed Kate to take photographs at Balmoral as well as allowing Kate to wear her Cartier Halo tiara on her wedding in 2011, which is just one piece of jewellery of several that Kate has borrowed from Her Majesty.
The pair also had similar personalities according to royal author Victoria Murphy, which is why they got on so well with both sharing a "love of the outdoors" says Murphy.
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Prince Andrew being the Queen's favourite son is a statement that has long echoed throughout the decades and the Queen is said to have came to his aid when he was in embroiled in a sex scandal that led to him resigning from public roles in 2020.
Andrew was said to have been pampered growing up by the Queen as she was quite protective of her third child, so protective that he was 16 months old before he made his first official appearance.
Her protectiveness of Andrew continued throughout his adulthood and during the controversy of his affiliation with Jeffrey Epstein as the Queen reportedly contributed £2million to Prince Andrew's settlement with Virginia Giuffre in a civil sexual assault case.
'You can leave your tributes to Queen Elizabeth II here.'
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