Queen’s final public appearance showed true depth of her feelings in heartbreaking moment

While the late Queen Elizabeth continued with her duties of state – like greeting the new prime minister – right until the very end of her life, her final appearance at a public event happened some months before she passed away during the celebrations for her Platinum Jubilee.

As she marked 70 years on the throne, the late Queen was picture-perfect during her public appearances but behind closed doors she was struggling with her health and mobility. Normally, throughout her reign, the late Queen consistently put her royal duties before her personal comfort, but during the long weekend of celebrations, she was forced to miss out on some of the events planned to mark the Jubilee, due to her ill health.

However, despite her private struggles, she made one final appearance in public, after her son King Charles – then Prince of Wales – persuaded her to push through and attend. One royal expert has noted that this final public appearance showed the depth of Queen Elizabeth’s feelings toward her role as monarch and head of state, and found the moment to be pretty heartbreaking.

The expert, royal commentator and broadcaster Afua Acheampong-Hagan, described the moment in the Channel 5 documentary, Secrets of the Royal Palaces, which saw a multitude of experts come together to examine the late Queen’s final public appearance, which would go down in the history books.

At the culmination of the weekend of festivities for the Platinum Jubilee, a pageant took place outside Buckingham Palace, and the former monarch appeared with the other senior royals on the balcony of the palace to greet the waiting crowds below who had gathered to celebrate her long reign.

However, she very nearly didn’t appear at all – and it was only after some persuasion from Charles that she made the journey to London, despite how unwell she was feeling. Acheampong-Hagan described the now-iconic appearance, saying: “When the queen stepped out on the balcony at Buckingham Palace, looking absolutely resplendent in that green outfit, the crowds goes absolutely wild”. The royal expert added, “‘The pinnacle of the Platinum Jubilee was seeing the Queen on that balcony and you could see the emotion written all over her face. I think she was so very, very glad that she managed to see her people, if you will, one last time.”

The late Queen expressed how much the celebrations had meant to her at the end of the Jubilee weekend, saying in a statement: “When it comes to how to mark seventy years as your Queen, there is no guidebook to follow. It really is a first. But I have been humbled and deeply touched that so many people have taken to the streets to celebrate my Platinum Jubilee. While I may not have attended every event in person, my heart has been with you all; and I remain committed to serving you to the best of my ability, supported by my family.”