Queen bravely stands during Prince Phillip's memorial service

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The Queen had a packed schedule on Wednesday, when she held six private audiences at Windsor Castle, as shown by the Court Circular, just a day after attending an emotional memorial to celebrate her late husband Prince Philip’s life. The record, which registers all official engagements carried out by senior royals, stated in a series of entries dated March 30 the monarch met several people who have worked in the past with the Duke of Edinburgh.

The first entry read: “Brigadier Archie Miller-Bakewell was received by The Queen today when Her Majesty invested him with the Insignia of a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.”

The brigadier was Prince Philip’s last private secretary, as he served him from 2011 to 2021.

While he was the only person to be awarded the Commander insignia, the brigadier was not the only former aide to be honoured with an RVO on Wednesday.

According to the Court Circular, Miss Rachel Loryman, Mrs Alexandra McCreery and Mrs Suzy Lethbridge were invested by the Queen with the insignia of a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order. 

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Miss Loryman covered the role of Philip’s assistant private secretary between 2018 to 2021 and, before that, had worked in a number of roles within the Duke and Clarence House’s households.

Mrs McCreery, on the other hand, was Prince Philip’s archivist and librarian.

The archivist appeared in the BBC hour-long special aired in memory of the Duke, called Prince Philip: The Royal Family Remembers.

During the programme, she provided a unique insight into the Duke’s library at Buckingham Palace, which included hundreds of books, personal mementoes, artworks, a photograph of the Queen and a model of HMS Magpie, the only vessel he commanded before leaving his Navy career to dedicate his life to royal duties. 

Showing glimpses of the library, Mrs McCreery said: “I think he read a lot so that he could converse with other people.

“He liked to engage, he liked to challenge.

“The books are on the shelves in their categories.”

She went on to show the cooking and politics sections. 

Finally, Mrs Lethbridge was Philip’s correspondence secretary.

Mr Stephen Niedojadlo and Mr David Berwick were also received by the Queen at her Berkshire residence on Wednesday.

Both former royal aides were awarded the insignia of members of the RVO and had worked as valets for Prince Philip.

The RVO is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. 

It is awarded to those who have provided distinguished personal service to the monarch, to her family members or to any senior representatives of the sovereign.

These six meetings weren’t the only engagements carried out yesterday by the Queen, the royal record shows.

In the evening, Her Majesty also held an audience with Prime Minister Boris Johnson over the phone.

The Queen and the Prime Minister have been holding their weekly meetings via telephone on most occasions since the beginning of the pandemic. 

The monarch was last seen in public on Tuesday, when she travelled to central London in her first engagement outside palace walls since October to attend the service of thanksgiving for Prince Philip.

The service at Westminster Abbey was attended by approximately 1800 people – including members of the Royal Family, foreign royals, diplomats, Government officials and representatives of the Duke’s charities.

The Duke of Edinburgh died on April 9 last year but, since his funeral had to take place under coronavirus restrictions, this service gave people who have known him or worked with him to pay a proper tribute to the late royal.

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