Queen Elizabeth looked steady on her feet as she arrived at a memorial service for her late husband Prince Philip at Westminster Abbey.

The poignant ceremony is her first major official engagement outside one of her homes for nearly six months, after she travelled to Cardiff to deliver a speech at the Welsh Senedd on October 14.

Since then, the monarch has only attended one major event with the public due to concerns about her health.

The Queen is said to be suffering from mobility issues but is ‘too proud’ to be seen with a wheelchair in public.

Buckingham Palace only confirmed this morning that Her Majesty would make an appearance at the high-profile and personally significant occasion in honor of her husband of 73 years.

There was some uncertainty over her ability to attend today’s event due to the long walk down the aisle to her seat.

However, the Queen looked steady on her feet with the help of a walking stick.

Behind Andrew and Edward’s family sat Peter Phillips, and Zara and Mike Tindall and their daughters.

Ahead of the service, a small crowd of royal fans gathered outside Westminster Abbey to catch a glimpse of those attending.

Hundreds of people including nearly 30 foreign royals, politicians and scores of representatives from Philip’s charities are gathering for the special thanksgiving service in honour of the country’s longest serving consort.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is among the guests, despite Downing Street being forced to apologise to the Queen last year about a gathering held on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral.

That funeral produced the moving image of the Queen sitting alone as she complied with Covid regulations while grieving her husband.

The first fines over the ‘partygate scandal’ were issued as guests began arriving at Westminster Abbey today.

It is a poignant occasion for the Queen to remember her husband among family and friends, after the limitations imposed on the duke’s funeral during the pandemic.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s intellect, work ethic, sense of humour and devotion to his family were celebrated in an address by the Dean of Windsor.

The Right Reverend David Conner paid tribute to Philip as a ‘remarkable man’ who was committed to ‘a host of down-to-earth enterprises’.

He pointed out that the duke could be ‘abrupt’ and suggested that at times he could forget ‘just how intimidating he could be’.

Addressing the congregation in Westminster Abbey, Mr Conner said: ‘He was practical, wanting to put flesh upon his dreams, and (acknowledging the limitations of living in this so-called ‘real world’) he devoted his astonishing intellectual and physical energy, his enormous capacity for sheer hard work, to a host of down-to-earth enterprises.

‘These included the equipping of young people to face tomorrow’s challenges, the encouragement of respect and care for the natural order, and his pioneering work in facilitating conversation between representatives of the different world faiths.

‘Through his passionate commitment, he drew others to himself in admiration and respect and, in the case of those who lived and worked most closely to him, genuine love.’

Concluding his address, the dean said: ‘As we give thanks for the life of a remarkable man, perhaps our greatest tribute to him, most especially in these far too troubled times, will be for us to accept the challenge, implicit in his life, to rekindle in our hearts something of that call, and to pray (as I think he did) for the inspiration and the guidance to play our part, however small, in working for a kinder future.’

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