In mourning

The Queen Has Broken With This Tradition After Prince Philip's Death

Prince Philip passed away at the age of 99 nearly two weeks ago. With the death of her beloved husband, Queen Elizabeth II began a period of mourning. But she has already broken with a particular tradition that had carried on from the 19th century.

Prince Philip died on April 9 just two months shy of his 100th birthday. It's a sad time for Queen Elizabeth II, who lost her husband of 73 years. Now in her time of mourning, the Queen has chosen to break from a tradition that was kept by many royals before her.

The Queen breaks mourning tradition upon Prince Philip's death

As People reported, Queen Elizabeth has not been using traditional black-rimmed stationery during the official mourning period. Rather, she's using a personalized one. The stationery shows the coat of arms in black instead of in red, as usual. The Queen isn't using the black one standardly seen after a death, though other royals are using it.

The tradition began in the 19th century, when Queen Victoria used stationary with a black border as an expression of grief after the death of her husband Prince Albert in 1861. People suggests that the current break with tradition by the Queen is in honour of Prince Philip.

Queen Elizabeth II mourns the loss of her deceased husband, Prince Philip

Even at Prince Philip's funeral, certain rituals were not carried out as usual. His coffin was transported on a specially-designed Land Rover. There were also no eulogies during the service.

Queen Elizabeth used the black-rimmed stationery for one last letter to Prince Philip, which she placed on the coffin of the late Duke of Edinburgh — certainly one of the most moving moments at the service. On Wednesday this week, the Queen turned 95 years old and for the first time addressed her husband's death in a statement.