Pomp and pageantry as Queen attends Order of the Garter ceremony

Hundreds have watched the spectacle of the Queen and Knights of the Garter attending the Garter service at the chapel where the Duke and Duchess of Sussex married.

The Queen was joined by members of the order, including the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge, at St George's Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle where Harry and Meghan married in May.

Crowds gathered in the castle grounds were treated to the sight of Garter Knights walking past wearing lavish blue velvet robes and black velvet hats with white plumes.

Among them were the Duke of York, Earl of Wessex, Princess Royal, Duke of Gloucester, Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra, the Honourable Lady Ogilvy.

The appointment of Knights of the Garter is in the Queen's gift and is made without consulting ministers.

Recipients of the honour are chosen because they have held public office, contributed to national life or served the sovereign personally.

Other members of the order include former prime minister Sir John Major, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, a past president of the Supreme Court, and Admiral Lord Boyce, a former head of the UK's armed forces.

The Queen is sovereign of the order and a number of other British and foreign royals are additional knights of the order, including the Duke of Edinburgh, Charles and William.

Philip, who has effectively retired from official public duties, did not attend.