The Queen would not have felt alone at Prince Philip's funeral and will turn to her love of animals to keep going, according to a long-time friend of the duke's.
Images of the Queen sat alone during her husband's funeral left many weeping with sadness as coronavirus restrictions meant she was socially distanced from the rest of the family.
But, despite cutting a sad figure in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, Gyles Brandreth claims she may have sat alone, but would not have felt loneliness.
He wrote: "I do not believe the Queen felt alone at her beloved husband’s funeral. She is accustomed to walking in procession and being seated on her own: she has been doing it all her life. She is Queen after all.
"She sat as she sat at Saturday’s funeral because of the current Covid regulations; she would not have dreamt of doing so otherwise.
He added to the Telegraph: "She leads by example. But she does not feel alone in the house of God – it is perhaps where she feels most at ease, for her a place of comfort and consolation."
The Queen's love of her animals is also said to be a likely source of comfort to her - with Brandreth claiming her corgis and horses will help sustain her in the years ahead.
She has already been seen walking her dogs in the grounds outside Frogmore Cottage in Windsor.
The Queen and senior royals mourned Prince Philip at St George's Chapel on Saturday after a funeral procession with the Duke's coffin.
The service came after the nation observed a minute's silence for the Duke of Edinburgh.
A handwritten note, reportedly signed with the monarch's childhood nickname 'Lillibet', was left on top of the Duke's coffin.
Prince Harry and Prince William, who sat opposite each other in the chapel, have also been pictured together as part of the procession, and were seen talking after leaving the service.
Earlier the duke's coffin was loaded onto his custom-made Land Rover for his final journey.
The Queen followed in a car behind the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin while other members of the royal family walked alongside it on route to Windsor Castle's St George's Chapel.
After the service, Kate and William paid tribute saying: "The Duke of Edinburgh was a devoted consort to Her Majesty The Queen for nearly 70 years, from Her Majesty’s Accession in 1952 until his death."
The Duke of Edinburgh's funeral was "typically Philip and all the better for it", a royal author has said.
Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, pointed to the "quirky touches" and "very moving aspects", such as the duke's carriage with his gloves, cap and jar of sugar lumps for the horses and the Land Rover hearse.
"It was a very fitting tribute and send off in the most difficult circumstances," Mr Little told the PA news agency.
"It's what the duke wanted in so many ways but he wouldn't have envisaged it involving so few people.
"Visually I thought it was quite stunning and the perfect spring day made it all the more so."
Mr Little added: "It was very traditional, but with quirky touches and some very moving aspects - the duke's carriage with his gloves and cap and the jar of sugar lumps for the horses.
"I thought that was a really sweet gesture and other examples throughout the day such as the Land Rover hearse.
"So much of it was typically Philip and all the better for it."
