Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie on Saturday named Queen Elizabeth II their “guide” and “matriarch” in a touching tribute to their late grandmother.
“We haven’t been able to say much since you left us all,” the daughters of disgraced Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson wrote in a lengthy statement alongside a photo of themselves as children with their grandmother.
“There are tears and laughter, silences and chatter, hugs and loneliness, and a collective loss to you, our beloved queen and our beloved grandmother. We, like many, thought you would be here forever. And we all miss you terribly.
“You were our matriarch, our guide, our loving hand on our back that led us through this world. You taught us so much and we will cherish those lessons and memories forever.”
The couple thanked Queen Elizabeth for making them laugh, including for “picking heather and raspberries” and for “our tea”.
“You, who you are, will never know the impact you have had on our family and on so many people around the world. The world is mourning you and the tribute would really make you smile. They are all too true for the remarkable leader that you are.”
They went on to say that they were happy that she is reunited with Prince Philip.
“It was the honor of our lives to have been your granddaughters and we are so incredibly proud of you,” they wrote.
The sisters finished their note and wrote that they know that “Uncle Charles” will set the example of Elizabeth.
Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen died on September 8 in Scotland at the age of 96. The past two weeks have seen many events for the long-reigning monarch ahead of her funeral on Monday.
Beatrice, 34, and Eugenie, 32, will also attend a vigil alongside their cousins, including Prince William and Prince Harry, on Saturday night.
The two princesses had a close relationship with the Queen and appeared next to her at royal events from an early age.
In a video posted to TikTok in June 2022, Beatrice was imprisoned talking about how “lucky” she had the Queen as her grandmother.
“My name is Beatrice, and the Queen is my grandma,” she said in the viral clip, adding, “She’s my grandma. I’m very, very lucky.”
Beatrice has also described her grandmother and her mother as her biggest role models.
“They’re both formidable women,” she told Hello! in October 2017 from the Queen and Ferguson. “I think having female role models is incredibly important, and I’m very lucky to be related to these two incredible women.”
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She continued: “I find my grandmother inspiring every day because her overwhelming sense of duty is accompanied by an overwhelming curiosity. Every day she is curious to learn something new, to do something new. … She goes into the community with a genuine curiosity about how she can be a force for good in the world.”
Beatrice honored the Queen at her July 2020 wedding to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi by wearing the monarch’s tiara and gown.
The newlyweds then named their daughter Sienna Elizabeth after the Queen when the little one was born in September 2021.
Eugenie, for her part, paid tribute to her late grandfather Prince Philip by naming her and her husband Jack Brooksbank’s first child August Philip Hawke in February 2021.
Eugenie later wrote a touching essay for The Spectator about how she hoped her son would grow up to be just like the Queen.
“I gave my life to my special little family and hope to instill even an inch of the values my grandmother lived her life,” she wrote in June 2022. “I think of my son August and what I would like for him, what kind of world would I want him to grow up in.”
She continued: “And I think of my grandmother and what she stood for, for so many people and for our family during these 70 years. I would like Augie to have her patience, her composure and her kindness, while always being able to laugh at himself and keep a twinkle in his eye.”
Both Beatrice and Eugenie attended the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee festivities that same month to mark Her Majesty’s unprecedented seven-decade reign.
During the celebrations, the Queen showed signs of ill health as she had to withdraw from several events over the course of the three-day weekend due to “inconvenience.”
And a month earlier, she had to cancel a gig after experiencing “episodic mobility issues.”
The Queen previously expressed health concerns when she was hospitalized overnight in October 2021. That same month, she began using a walking stick “for comfort.”
She also had an attack with COVID-19 in February 2022, but was back to performing her royal duties the following month.
The Queen is survived by her four children, Andrew, King Charles III, Princess Anne and Prince Edward, as well as eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.