Queen Elizabeth Speaks Publicly About Prince Philip For First Time Since His Death

Queen Elizabeth II has spoken publicly about Prince Philip for the first time since the death of her husband of 73 years.

On Saturday, the 95-year-old monarch attended the opening ceremony for the sixth session of the Scottish Parliament with her son Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, known as the Duchess of Rothesay in Scotland.

In her address at the ceremony, the Queen recalled the love she and her late husband, who passed away in April at age 99, shared for Scotland.

"I have spoken before of my deep and abiding affection for this wonderful country, and of the many happy memories Prince Philip and I always held of our time here," the Queen was quoted by People as saying. "It is often said that it is the people that make a place, and there are few places where this is truer than in Scotland, as we have seen in recent times."

Queen Elizabeth II arrived at the event wearing an alpine green herringbone wool A-line coat and a gold vibrant floral printed dress, both by Stewart Parvin. The monarch paired the outfit with a matching hat by Rachel Trevor Morgan. She accessorized with the Queen Mary diamond thistle brooch.

Meanwhile, Duchess Camilla donned a green coat dress trimmed with Rothesay tartan by Mr. Roy, a green beret by Philip Treacy and her own diamond thistle brooch.

In July, Queen Elizabeth made her first solo trip following the Duke of Edinburgh's death to Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where the couple would usually stay from August until the fall. The monarch and her late husband vacationed together in their home in the Scottish Highlands for the final time in August last year.

Prince Philip was laid to rest on April 17, a week after his death, with a funeral at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. The Queen, accompanied by a lady-in-waiting, wore a mask and rode in a state Bentley at the rear of the funeral procession and sat alone at the church for the duration of the funeral.

Body language expert Judi James analyzed the Queen's gestures and reactions during the funeral from footage of the ceremony. According to James, the Queen seemed to seek "reassurance" from her family before she entered the chapel where the service was held.

"The Queen provided the most memorable moments, in her isolation in the chapel where she sat with her head dipped so low that her face was completely covered from view by her hat," James told Daily Mail.

The expert continued, "There was one moment when she paused and turned around before entering the chapel and it looked terribly poignant, almost as though she couldn't face going in alone. She turned for what looked like reassurance that her party was behind her."

Queen Elizabeth left a handwritten letter on top of Prince Philip's coffin together with a wreath, signing the note with her nickname, "Lilibet."