Britain says goodbye to a prince
`Powerful in its simplicity': A pared-down funeral, a minute of silence and a solitary Queen in a chapel
LONDON — Prince Philip, the steadfast but irascible consort to the Queen, who worked tirelessly to bolster the monarchy — but was most famous for his barbed gaffes — was celebrated in an intimate funeral at Windsor Castle on Saturday.
Just a few dozen members of the royal family were in attendance, all cloaked in black and wearing face masks.
“Powerful in its simplicity,” said a royal commentator watching the procession on BBC.
It was the less-grand funeral that Philip himself said he wanted. His coffin was transported via a camouflage green Land Rover that would have looked more at home at the family's Balmoral Castle in the muddy moors of Scotland.
Compared to spectacular funerals past — for Princess Diana in 1997 or the Queen Mother in 2002 — Philip's ceremony was stripped down to its bare bones, partly because of pandemic restrictions.
During a national moment of silence, one could hear birdsong in place of London's normal buzz. Among the gestures to honour Philip, landing and takeoffs at nearby Heathrow International Airport were paused for the minute.
There was no public access to the funeral. In normal times, before this modern plague, such a royal farewell would have seen hundreds of guests from around the world, including global celebrities and heads of state, packed into Westminster Abbey.
A horse-drawn cortège would have moved through the streets of London, lined with thousands of Britons in mourning.
But because of pandemic, which has taken the lives of 130,000 in Britain alone, strict coronavirus restrictions allowed only 30 mourners, who sat in small family units in the empty stalls in the quire of St. George's.
Most poignant of all perhaps was the image of Philip's wife of 73 years, Queen Elizabeth, sitting hunched and small, all alone on a pew.
The Duke of Edinburgh's children and grandchildren walked behind his coffin in a funeral procession, led by Prince Charles, the heir to the throne. Princes William and Harry were a few steps behind their father. Later, when they left the chapel, Harry was filmed chatting with William and his wife Catherine. The two brothers walked side by side for several minutes.
Though the funeral may have been simple by royal standards, the procession across the grounds of Windsor Castle was attended by more than 730 members of the armed forces, many in scarlet tunics and bearskin hats.
As the bells of the castle's Curfew Tower rang, the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery fired off rounds of minute guns and a piping party from the Royal Navy blew their whistles.
The 94-year-old Queen, her face obscured by a black mask, was escorted by a ladyin-waiting who sat with her in the royal Bentley as the national anthem rang out underneath blue skies at Windsor.
It was the first time the reigning monarch has been seen in public since the death of Philip, 99, on April 9.
There were readings by the Dean of Windsor David Conner and the Archbishop of Cantebury Justin Welby — but no eulogy. Conner praised Philip for his “kindness, humour and humanity” and the “many ways in which his long life has been a blessing to us.”
On a sunny spring day at Buckingham Palace, the official London residence of the Queen, people paused Saturday to pay their respects to Philip. There are several signs outside the palace gates asking people not to lay floral tributes. Still, people did. One card read, “Thank you for being absolutely bloody brilliant.”
He was an old sailor. People should be respectful of that. He was a sea dog who liked to laugh.” James Conner, photographer and former Royal Navy sailor
James Conner, 62, a photographer who previously served in the Royal Navy, dropped by to soak in the scene. “He was an old sailor,” he said of Philip, who saw action with the Royal Navy in the Second World War.
“People should be respectful of that. He was a sea dog who liked to have a laugh.”
For many of those gathered outside of Buckingham, the tributes to Philip also were bound tightly with questions about how the 94-year-old Queen will manage without her partner of more than seven decades.
“Most of the country are behind the Queen, who is now seemingly alone,” said Richard Webb, 61.
The Queen, he added, was also “going through other stuff right now with her family.” Asked if he was referring the break by Harry and Meghan, known as Megxit, he said: “Yes.”
“Things must be very hurtful for Meghan and the whole family but my sympathies lie with the Queen.”