I don’t understand why the Queen had to sit by herself. “Covid” protocol? She’s the friggin Queen. She can do whatever she wants. Who is going to say anything to her or correct her?
There’s always an order of precedence. The queen is at the top. If she invites some Tom, Dick, or Harry (or even Lord Tom, Dick, or Harry) to sit beside her it makes her look less majestic. And once that happens, the monarchy is on it’s way out. I don’t care, but she does.
It was probably her choice. British people have had a lot of hardship and upset over funeral attendance rules since Covid began, and the Queen probably didn’t want to appear to the long-suffering public that she has special privileges.
The Queen lives by her example...always has.
The monarchy remains in the UK because the royal family attempts to live with the same restrictions as everyone else. They learned from the toppled monarchies of their cousins.