An adorable three-year-old boy has paid tribute to the late Queen – by dressing up as one of her Grenadier Guards and saluting her coffin.
Edward Almond often dresses up as one of the Queen’s Grenadier Guards, and marches around his home – pretending he is one of them.
The little lad loves to dress up in his uniform, which consists of their iconic red jacket and ‘bearskin’ hat.
The Queen’s Grenadier Guards is one of the oldest regiment in the British Army, best known for standing guard outside Buckingham Palace.
Edward paid tribute to the Queen by saluting her coffin while dressed up when it flew over his home in Bacup, Lancs,. on Sept 13.
He’s also saluted King Charles when he saw him on TV during news coverage of the Queen’s death.
And Edward will dress up in his adorable uniform to watch the funeral with his family on Monday
Proud dad Michael Almond, 30, said: “He doesn’t fully comprehend what has happened because he is three, but we relate it to his grandparents who have passed away.
“We say that the Queen is now in the sky as a star, so he now associates stars with the Queen.
“I had the flight tracker on my phone so we would be able to see it, but we didn’t necessarily know the flight path.
“The website I was using crashed, as I believe that many people were following the flight but thankfully, it flew over where we live.
“Because we was initially watching the coffin being loaded onto the aircraft, Edward wanted to get dressed up in his uniform.
“He also wanted to march so we went on the back road near where we live, and thankfully, we could see it fly over.
“Me and his mum were explaining that because the Queen has passed away, now the King is in charge so he was saluting him on the TV.”
Edward was inspired by soldiers who he saw on a trip to Malta, after he saw them marching and has been obsessed with soldiers ever since.
Michael said: “Everything he does, he does it himself in terms of watching it on the television then saluting and marching.
“When the Sergeant Major shouts, he can’t necessarily understand what he is saying but Edward will interpret that and shout while he is marching.”
The family are also now planning a trip to London, so Edward can see the guards in real life.
Michael added: “Going is number one on our to do list now.
“Obviously given everything at the minute, it’s not appropriate to take him down at the minute but it’s definitely happening either later this year or early next year.”
