Earl and Countess of Wessex light candle in memory of Queen Elizabeth II during poignant visit to Manchester

As thousands queued in the capital to see Queen Elizabeth II lying in state, hundreds in Manchester greeted her youngest child Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex. While the crowds in the city centre were not quite on the same level as those seen in London at the moment, plenty of people still lined the barriers to pay their respects.

Outside the royals’ first stop - Manchester Central Library - one group draped a big Union flag over the metal railings in anticipation of their arrival at 11.45am. Others waved handheld flags and held flowers as the black BMWs and Range Rovers carrying the Wessexes pulled up and met the crowds.

Some of Manchester’s most significant civic figures, such as Mayor Andy Burnham, Council Leader Bev Craig, and Lord-Lieutenant of Greater Manchester Diane Hawkins, then brought the Earl and Countess of Wessex into the library and its incredibly atmospheric Wolfson Reading Room.

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Since Her Majesty’s death, references to Paddington Bear have been a common sight within the tributes, following the Queen’s memorable sketch with the character during the Platinum Party at the Palace. So it seemed quite fitting that the first card Prince Edward picked up in the library was one with Paddington on the front.

The circular room and its iconic dome amplified and echoed every camera click from the members of the press fortunate enough to be invited inside, and the Earl of Wessex even remarked on the “strange” acoustics that it created as he and the Countess of Wessex read through the cards and eventually the books of condolence that had been signed in memory of