Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week, Queen Elizabeth II has made an unexpected display of support for the Ukrainian people.

The Queen, who does not make political statements until directed to do so by her government, donated a private donation to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal last night, Thursday.

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The DEC thanked the Queen in a tweet, saying the 95-year-old queen had donated a “generous” donation to the cause.

“Many thanks to Her Majesty The Queen for continuing to support the Disaster Emergency Committee and for making a generous donation to the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal,” the statement read.

According to The Telegraph, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have also donated a private donation to the initiative.

The DEC is a committee that brings together 15 of the UK’s biggest charities, including the British Red Cross, of which the Queen is a patron, to fundraise rapidly and effectively in times of global humanitarian calamity.

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This is the Queen’s first public mention of the situation in Ukraine since Russian military invaded the country last week. Other members of the royal family have publicly shown their support for the Ukrainian people.

This comes after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle became the first royals to publicly condemn the bloodshed.

Archewell, their charity, issued a statement, “Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and all of us at Archewell, stand with the people of Ukraine against this breach of international and humanitarian law and encourage the global community and its leaders to do the same.”

Following the release of the statement, the pair faced a barrage of criticism, with charges of “jumping on the bandwagon” and “attention seeking” levelled against them online.

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Piers Morgan, a strong critic of Harry and Meghan, tweeted: “This will really rattle Putin.”

Subsequent utterances by members of the royal family have not been met with the same level of criticism.

In response to Prince William and Kate Middleton’s tweet, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote a personal message of thanks to the pair on behalf of himself and his wife.

It read, “Olena and I are grateful to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge @RoyalFamily that at this crucial time, when Ukraine is courageously opposing Russia’s invasion, they stand by our country and support our brave citizens. Good will triumph.”

This week, Prince Charles also delivered an impromptu address in favour of Ukraine, praising the “extraordinary bravery, generosity and fortitude of the Ukrainian community.”

The Queen’s reluctance to make official statements on political problems is part of her role as a constitutional monarch.

Regardless of her official commitment to remain apolitical, her “generous” personal donation to help humanitarian aid reach the Ukrainian people is a public display of humanity.