Lost its ‘grandfather’
across the country.
At Canterbury Cathedral, the Archbishop of Canterbury prayed for those who found that the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, as Prince Philip was officially known, had left a “very great gap” in their lives.
As part of eight days of national mourning, people gathered outside Windsor Castle and other royal palaces to leave flowers, while religious and political leaders expressed support for the queen, the world’s oldest and longest-reigning monarch.
A note attached to a Royal Navy peak cap left amongst flowers at Windsor, a tribute to Prince Philip’s service in the navy, read: “God bless you Sir, you were an example to us all.”
Edward Elgar’s stirring Nimrod was played at the Canterbury
Cathedral service, the piece of music that accompanies many British funerals and memorial services and is played annually at the Cenotaph in London to mark the National Service of Remembrance.
A Greek prince, Philip married Queen Elizabeth in 1947, five years before she ascended to the throne.
He helped the monarchy modernise in the post-World War II period and supported the queen through numerous crises over the years.
His funeral will be held next Saturday, with long-established plans redrawn and scaled down because of COVID-19 restrictions. The prince will be given a ceremonial royal funeral rather than a state funeral. There will be no public processions, and it will be held entirely within the grounds of Windsor Castle and limited to 30 mourners.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not attend. Former British Prime Minister John Major, who was in office from 1990 to 1997 and who was guardian to Prince William and Prince Harry after their mother Diana died, said he hoped the funeral would help reunite the family after it was rocked last month by an interview given by Prince Harry and his wife Meghan to Oprah Winfrey.
During the interview, Meghan said her pleas for help while she felt suicidal were ignored and that an unnamed member of the family had asked how dark their unborn child’s skin might be.
Prince Harry will return from the United States, where the couple now live, to attend the funeral while Meghan, who is pregnant with their second child, will not, on her doctor’s advice.