Miscaptioned: Photo of Queen Elizabeth Crying
The Claim
Queen Elizabeth was shedding tears during her recently deceased husband’s funeral.
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An image is circulating on social media, including Facebook and Twitter, that depicts Queen Elizabeth II shedding a tear in sadness. Users claim she is mourning her husband, Prince Phillip, who died on April 9th. The two were married for 74 years.
Misbar’s Analysis
The Misbar investigation found this claim to be misleading. A reverse image search showed that the Queen crying image is from 2002 during an opening ceremony of "Sunday of Remembrance," which is the annual celebration of the victims of Britain's successive wars.
Mark Stewart's picture is titled The Queen Crying at the Field of Remembrance, Westminster Abbey (2002). Stewart added that the ceremony had always carried out by the Queen Mother, who had died earlier that year, as had the Queen’s sister Princess Margaret. It was an emotional time for Her Majesty, and the first occasion she had stepped into her late mother’s shoes.” Another image of the Queen crying on the same day can be found here on Getty Images.
However, funeral arrangements are still underway. The ceremonial royal funeral will be held at St George's Chapel, on the grounds of Windsor Castle, on Saturday, 17 April. Given the context, the Queen crying image was in 2002 and not at her late husband’s funeral, which is yet to take place.
