Royals to forgo military gear at Philip’s funeral
London, Thursday
It will be a royal family affair. Buckingham Palace announced that a small and private funeral will be held for the late Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, on Saturday starting at 10 a.m. EDT.
While the guest list has not yet been formally announced, Buckingham Palace disclosed that his grandson Prince Harry would be attending the funeral, marking his first return to England following his bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey last month.
Meghan Markle, who is four months pregnant, did not accompany him and was confirmed to not be attending under the advice of her doctor.
The Duke of Edinburgh died peacefully on Friday at the age of 99 less than a month after being discharged from the hospital where he received treatment for an infection and a pre-existing heart condition. No official cause of death was announced.
Covid-19 restrictions
Coinciding with Prince Philip’s request for a minimal funeral, England’s Covid-19 restrictions limit only 30 guests to attend the funeral. Of those notably absent will be UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson who will be missing the service “to allow for as many family members as possible.”
Minutes before the service begins on Saturday, the coffin will be moved from the castle building into a Land Rover that Prince Philip had a hand in designing.
The car will then lead a short procession of members of the royal family to St. George’s Chapel located near the entrance to Windsor Castle.
Across the UK at 3 pm, the nation will observe a three-minute silence as the funeral service begins.
Inside the chapel where only members of the royal family are allowed, medals and decorations as well as the duke’s insignia will be put on the altar for display.
Following the service, the late royal will be temporarily interred in the royal vault in the chapel.
His coffin will be moved to the King George VI memorial chapel after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, where the two will lie alongside each other.
Senior members of the royal family will not wear military uniform at the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, in a break with tradition designed to avoid embarrassing Prince Harry, according to reports.
Served in Afghanistan
The Duke of Sussex, who lost his military titles after stepping down as a senior working royal, faced being the only senior male royal not in uniform, despite having served two tours in Afghanistan.
Protocol dictates that he should wear civilian dress, although he would be allowed to wear his medals.
The no-uniform rule would also quell an internal palace row over whether the Duke of York should be allowed to wear the uniform of an admiral to the funeral on Saturday.
Prince Andrew, who stepped back from public duties following the controversy over his friendship with the disgraced financial and sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein, was due to be promoted to the rank of admiral in 2020 to mark his 60th birthday, but this did not go ahead following the fallout from his disastrous Newsnight appearance.
Buckingham Palace is expected to announce further details of the funeral later on Thursday, including about attire.
But sources told the Sun the Queen had decided the simplest way was for all senior royals to wear civilian clothing – mourning dress for the men and black ties.
It was “the most eloquent solution to the problem”, a military source told the Sun.Prince Andrew, 61, had reportedly ruffled feathers at Buckingham Palace. - Agencies
