Pregnant Meghan skips Philip’s funeral
Buckingham says doctor advised pregnant Duchess against travel
WINDSOR, ENGLAND—Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex who is pregnant with her second child with Prince Harry, will not be at the funeral of Prince Philip. She has been advised by her physician not to travel. Prince Harry, however, will attend the funeral service for his grandfather that will be held on April 17. Plans for the funeral have had to be redrawn because of COVID-19 restrictions.
WINDSOR, ENGLAND— Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex whose explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey dominated much of the last few weeks of Prince Philip, will not be at the funeral of her husband’s grandfather and the consort of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.
The funeral service for Philip will be held on April 17, Buckingham Palace said on Saturday, adding that his grandson Prince Harry will attend although the prince’s wife, Meghan, who is pregnant with their second child, will not.
“The Duchess of Sussex has been advised by her physician not to travel. So the Duke will be attending,” a palace spokesperson said.
Long-established plans for the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh have had to be redrawn and scaled down because of COVID-19 restrictions, but Buckingham Palace said they remained very much in line with Philip’s wishes.
Philip, who had been at his wife’s side throughout her 69year reign, died on Friday at Windsor Castle at age 99.
He will be given a ceremonial royal funeral, not a state funeral, with no public processions, held entirely within the grounds of Windsor Castle and limited to 30 mourners.
Exact details of who will be attending were not released, but announced that among those present will be Prince Harry, son of Elizabeth’s eldest son crown Prince Charles, also known as the Duke of Sussex.
Great crisis
Last month, Harry and Meghan gave an interview with Winfrey and plunged the royal family into its greatest crisis in decades.
The interview aired on March 7 as Prince Philip was confined in a hospital for an infection and a procedure for a preexisting heart condition.
During the interview, Meghan said her pleas for help while she felt suicidal were ignored and that one unnamed member of the family had asked how dark their unborn child’s skin might be.
Harry also bemoaned his family’s reaction to the couple’s decision to step back from official duties and move to Los Angeles.
Speaking about the funeral service, the Buckingham Palace spokesperson said, “The occasion will still celebrate and recognize the Duke’s life and his more than 70 years of service to the queen, the UK and the Commonwealth.”
The funeral will be held at the castle’s St. George’s Chapel and will be preceded by a minute’s silence across the country.
Buckingham stressed the service would be held in line with government coronavirus guidelines, meaning members of the royal family, including the queen, would be expected to wear a mask.
Family in mourning
Tributes have flooded in from across Britain and from world leaders for Philip, who was a pillar of strength for the queen. At 94, she is the world’s oldest and longest-reigning living monarch.
The armed forces marked Philip’s passing at noon on Saturday with a death gun salute. Artillery units in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast and Gibraltar, and some navy warships, fired their guns.
The royal family asked the public to heed social distancing rules and avoid visits to its residences, but people still laid cards and bouquets outside Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace.