Princess Charlotte of Wales, Prince George of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales and Camilla, Queen consort are seen on The Mall ahead of The State Funeral for Queen Elizabeth II on Monday in London. Picture: Reuters
Prince George and Princess Charlotte were "incredibly well behaved" during the funeral of Queen Elizabeth.
The nine-year-old prince and Charlotte, seven, attended the monarch's state funeral at Westminster Abbey in London on Monday, and Mark Tewksbury – who was part of a Canadian delegation at the service – has praised the young royals for how they dealt with the occasion.
Tewksbury – who is a member of the Order of Canada, the country's second-highest honour – shared: "They looked like really incredibly well behaved kids but a little like kids, a little like, 'wow this is a lot'. For little Prince George, this will be him one day and he doesn't really know that yet. And then I thought, 'Ah, he's just lost his great-grandmother.'"
Tewksbury – who won a gold medal for Canada in the 1992 Olympics – described the occasion as a "spectacle, a who's who of heads of countries".
He also paid a glowing tribute to the late monarch, recalling a private meeting that he had with her at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia.
He told PEOPLE: "She was incredible, she knew I was a swimmer, she loved the Commonwealth and loved how sport brings us together – she was incredibly well-informed."
Tewksbury was joined at the service in London by Hollywood star Sandra Oh, and he admitted that the service was an overwhelming experience for many people inside the abbey.
The former sports star – who was honoured by the Queen for his campaign work, having fought for years for disability and LGBTQ rights – explained: "Even movie stars and TV stars get a little overwhelmed in all of this stuff."