Queen Elizabeth II makes sad change to social media after Prince Philip's death

Queen Elizabeth II made a subtle yet heartbreaking change to her profile photo on her social media pages following the funeral of Prince Philip on April 17.

The British monarch's official Instagram and Twitter page, The Royal Family, used to have a photo of her with the Duke of Edinburgh smiling. It was taken at the Epsom Derby in 2016. Now, it only has a picture of the queen on her own.

It is the same picture shared with the public on April 21 in celebration of her 95th birthday. The snap shows her looking regal in a purple dress and hat and with an endearing smile on her face. It was from her solo public engagement to the MI5 headquarters last year, according to Daily Mail.

The change came as the royal family completed their two-week grieving period following Prince Philip's death on April 9. During this time, Queen Elizabeth II as well as other senior members of the family swapped the original avatars on their Twitter pages with their respective crests or monograms.

They have also since switched back to the original photos after the mourning period. Prince William and Kate Middleton put up a family picture taken when they participated in the April 2020 event applauding NHS workers from their Norfolk home, Anmer Hall. Prince Charles and his wife Camilla Parker-Bowles have a photo together taken during a visit to Wales in 2019.

On Tuesday, Her Majesty the Queen attended her first official royal engagement since her husband's funeral. She held virtual audiences with Ivita Burmistre, Ambassador from the Republic of Latvia, and Sara Affoue Amani, Ambassador from the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, from her home in Windsor Castle. She appeared stoic but managed to greet the diplomats with a big smile on her face.

Queen Elizabeth II has yet to make her first public appearance. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Anne, and Prince Charles and Camilla have since resumed their royal duties since Prince Philip was laid to rest. But the monarch was seen driving herself to Frogmore Gardens a day after the funeral with her two new corgi puppies gifted to her by Prince Andrew. She reportedly went there to walk the dogs and contemplate.