There is a great final duty that many children feel toward their parents: the responsibility to see them safely and peacefully to their final resting place.
Almost all who undertake this mental task do so from a public perspective.
But it was always going to be different for Princess Anne at a significant moment in history.
In the past few days, it has emerged that the late Queen wished that her only daughter, officially the Princess,
should take the lead role of guarding her coffin - echoing the role she herself played for her father King George VI's final journey
But it was always going to be different for Princess Anne at a significant moment in history.
Her wish reflects the princess' reputation for hard work and duty and the practical burdens King Charles faced in the early days of his reign.
Within 24 hours of Elizabeth's death, the new king's life was turned into a whirlwind, having to balance personal grief with his state duties.
Her 72-year-old sister - 21 months younger - was at Balmoral, preparing to move the Queen's coffin from that private family space into the public realm.
The first stage was a six-hour journey with the coffin to the Palace of Holyroodhouse.