Prince George at The Queen's funeral?

I agree with JaneJudge.
I also think he will realise just how much his beloved Grandma meant to the whole world.
And i feel he will learn alot from just that.

Hello! have extrapolated that Louis will also be going, simply because the schools will be shut.

Perhaps they think Wills and Kate will be stuck for childcare…

(If Louis does actually go, I’ll eat my netted pillbox)

I would take a child to a funeral at almost any age. Death is part of life.

The Royal children must be only too, too aware that their great grandmother has died. I am sure they have watched some of the pageantry on the television. It will have been talked of by their school friends.

If the family has a sensible attitude to death, and these things are talked about openly then there should be no problem.

When my DS was the same age as Prince George, a school friend and his brother were killed in a horrific road accident. It was on our library day. DS chose several books from the children's library that dealt with the body and an American one dealing with death. We went home read them together and talked about them and when, as was, inevitable, all the awful details of the accident, the ones that the papers didn't publish, made the rounds at school, he was able to deal with them with equinimity.

Look how primary schools deal with the death of a pupil, especially when in tragic circumstances. Sometimes some children go to the funeral or watch the procession.

Prince George has caring and thoughtful parents. Whatever their decision he will be OK.

Parents will know how their children will deal with attending a funeral. Both DDs aged 6 and 8 knew their grandfather had died. Both girls attended, taking it in their stride to say goodbye to their beloved Grandpa. I would never have contemplated making this decision if I thought our girls felt the slightest bit uncomfortable in attending. They were fine.

Sorry, meant to say I agreed it was an unpleasant post!

Germanshepherdsmum

What a very unpleasant post Gloriany.

I agree Gsm. Very unpleasant, but I think permitting young children to be exposed to the world's media, at an age when they are far too young to understand what is happening, or consider the consequences, is unpleasant. One of the functions of a parent is to protect the child, until they are mature enough to make informed decisions.

Germanshepherdsmum

What a very unpleasant post Gloriany.

I'm not sure what they mean by the children 'attending' because I would hope this didn't mean anything too formal or in the public eye. Surely they could view some of the proceedings from the side lines rather than in full view of cameras. We don't want to gawk at grieving children, so keep them out of camera view as much as possible.

How unpleasant Gloriany Its up to the parents to decide. My Grandson aged 8 or 9 went to his Great Grandmothers funeral. He was well behaved and respectful.
I know it's not the same as the Queens is a state funeral, but I think we should respect the parents desition.

ginny

Personally I don’t think he should attend the state funeral.
Maybe the private committal if he wants to.

I agree with ginny

He could, if the parents felt it appropriate, go to the private committal service to say goodbye. Though I wouldn’t do any of this to my child.

I'm with JaneJudge. Why shouldn't he be allowed to go and say goodbye? 9 is old enough for funerals. I'm not sure how long the state service will last though, so if very long, I'd understand if he didn't attend. He's old enough to be talked to about it and have some say in whether he goes or not.

What a very unpleasant post Gloriany.

Mostly even young children attend funerals here. They are part of the family after all. They don’t need to be paraded, just present.

snowberryZ

I don't think he should go.
He always looks miserable and tired when he's attended other events.
Of course the poor little mite could just have a naturally 'sad' expression. Some people do.

this made me laugh

I would imagine at least one of the children will be paraded, after all that seems to be one of their functions doesn't it? Show the public how cute the next generation of royals are. Perhaps it's a way of drawing attention away from the dysfunctional adults.

Parental choice. Not the choice I'd make for a child so young.

I think George and Charlotte will probably go as they went to the thanksgiving service for The Duke of Edinburgh. I am sure that they have seen footage of their Father standing vigil for their Great Grandma, so seeing the coffin will be not be a shock.

Prince Louis didn’t attend, so I doubt if he will go tomorrow.

Should be his parents’ choice, but they have only recently expressed concerns about a house move, new school and death of a Grandparent’s affecting their young children. It seems surprising then that Prince George’s attendance at the funeral should be a consideration at 9 years old when his almost 40 year old Uncle (older but closer to the deceased) is still talking about how that childhood funeral experience affected him!

I don't think he should go.
He always looks miserable and tired when he's attended other events.
Of course the poor little mite could just have a naturally 'sad' expression. Some people do.

I'm sure his family know him best.
JaneJudge , you talk such sense. I dont think that children should be hidden from what is part of life. It seems as if the up coming generations are becoming more open. than we were.
Nothing wrong in that.

I think there will be three points to consider here. The first being the emotional strain on a child of that age obviously upset at the death of his grandmother to face such public scrutiny. Secondly, particularly after (in my opinion) the extremely intrusive photography of the two royal vigils at Westminster Hall, when his every expression will be captured, and later commented on, perish the thought that he might screw his face up or yawn. Thirdly the logistics of processions, seating etc.

I have been at many funerals when children of that age have been present with no problems, but in this case I would say No.

I think he should make his own mind up after being told what it will entail.
The first I went to was my grandfather's at 12. I was horrified, it had not been explained and I was with cousins who were laughing and talking normally until we got into church and at the cemetery, we all looked at each other and cried.
My DDs were in their early teens when my father died it was explained and they chose to attend.

But a State funeral is so full on and longer than an average funeral with the world's cameras on them. It's a long time for a child. I agree children should learn to understand about death but in front of the anticipated audience of 32 million viewers, it's far too much pressure on both parents and child imo.

Yes, Grandma70s who can forget President Kennedy's little 4 year old son saluting his father's coffin? I am tearful just remembering it.

I wouldn’t expect a 9 year old to attend a funeral, and certainly not one of this nature, and wouldn’t have taken my child, but it’s up to the parents. George is by no means a normal 9 year old no matter how hard his parents try to give him a normal upbringing as best they can.

His parents know him best, his character etc. Their choice on how much involvement he has.