Fergie and Queen’s cousin not on funeral list
THE Queen faced ‘some very difficult’ decisions as she whittled the original list of 800 mourners down to 30, Buckingham Palace said last night.
Among those who failed to make the cut is the Queen’s cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, 78, who is not a working royal.
There was also no room for the spouses of the Queen’s cousins – the Duchess of Gloucester and the Duchess of Kent, nor Prince Michael’s outspoken wife, Princess Michael of Kent.
Prime minister Boris Johnson is said to have given up his place to make way for members of the royal family.
Prince Harry’s wife Meghan, 39, is also not attending. The duchess, who is expecting the couple’s second child, has remained in the US on the advice of her doctor.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s three children will also stay away from Prince Philip’s funeral. William and Kate have been careful to protect Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis, two, from the public gaze. They made it clear from the outset they would shield their children from the pressures of royal life while they were young.
There was also no room for Sarah Ferguson, 61, the former wife of the embattled Duke of York, Prince Andrew.