The royal family honors Queen Elizabeth on the anniversary of her death

OOn the second anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the royal family is honoring the former monarch in its own way.

King Charles III, 75, and his wife Queen Camilla, 77, were seen visiting Crathie Kirk church, the royal family's place of worship when they are on the Balmoral estate in Scotland. Queen Elizabeth II was a regular visitor to the church until her death at the age of 96 on September 8, 2022.

Her death was followed by a funeral watched by more than 29 million viewers in the UK, which also celebrated the accession to the throne of her son Charles, who will not be officially crowned until May 2023.

The royal family's official account on X (formerly Twitter) posted its own tribute to the Queen, sharing a photo of her smiling at a summer party at Buckingham Palace in 2019. The caption read: “In memory of Queen Elizabeth II, 1926-2022.”

On the first anniversary of the Queen's death in 2023, the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate, will lead their own tributes during a small service in Wales at St David's Cathedral. Aside from the post on the royal family's social media page, the couple have yet to publicly comment on this significant date this year.

Read more: One year after the death of Queen Elizabeth, Britain is a different place

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer paid tribute to the late Queen in a post on X. “Today marks the second anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth II. The late Queen's devotion to Britain and the Commonwealth taught us that the value of service endures, no matter what challenges our country faces,” he wrote. “During the 70 glorious years of her reign, she was at the heart of the life of this nation. Today we honour her memory.”

Parallel to the anniversary, the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee of the British government issued a press release announcing that the new national memorial to the late Queen will be built in St. James's Park in London. The committee, set up by the British government and royal family in 2023, considered many possible locations for the official memorial but chose St. James's Park because of its “historical significance and personal connection to the late Queen.”

“It is only right that the memorial should be in a location that reflects the scale of her role at the heart of British society and provides the public with a place of reflection,” said the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the Rt Hon Pat McFadden. The press release made clear that the government is in the early stages of building the memorial, but that more intensive discussions with architects and artists on design proposals will begin later this year. The official design is due to be announced in 2026, when the Queen would have turned 100, according to the committee.