Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and Queen Elizabeth II in 2015. Photo / Getty Images
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh had made a very special promise to each other before Prince Philip's death, it has been revealed.
According to royal expert Richard Kay, the Queen vowed to continue enjoying life, after the death of her husband of 73 years.
Prince Philip had made the same promise to the monarch, if she were to die first.
This promise was their way of ensuring they could each cope with life without the other, Kay has claimed.
"Philip's retirement had allowed her time to adjust to doing things alone. But provided he was at the end of the phone after a trying day, the world's best-known double act could still function behind the scenes," the royal expert said in the Daily Mail.
"Covid changed everything but, crucially, it brought an unexpected dividend in that she and Philip were together for the last 13 months of his life," he continued.
"The two had often discussed how each would cope without the other at their side, and it boiled down to this: whoever was left should mourn, but not for too long, then enjoy what remained of their life."
The Queen returned to royal duties just four days after the death of Prince Philip in April and has maintained a steady schedule of public duties, including the G7 summit, the Royal Windsor Horse Show and a recent visit to the set of Coronation Street.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, the Queen's grandson-in-law Mike Tindall said she was "amazing" during what was undoubtedly her darkest hour.
"Having to see the Queen make a stand in terms of having to show what the world is at the moment and sit on her own and be as brave as she was, I thought, just summed up her up as a lady. She was amazing," he said.
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