Prince’s body will eventually rest next to Her Majesty
THE Duke will be interred in the royal vault of St George’s Chapel in Windsor – but he will be moved when the Queen dies.
Prince Philip will eventually be transferred to the church’s King George VI Memorial Chapel to lie alongside his wife of 73 years.
Inside the small chapel house already lies the Queen’s parents, George VI and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and her sister, Princess Margaret.
Kings and queens of England were formally buried at Westminster Abbey for hundreds of years. But in recent centuries many have been buried at St George’s Chapel.
Henry VIII is arguably the most famous monarch buried in the chapel, although the marble slab marking his final resting place is in the wrong spot.
The long held funeral plans had to be rearranged due to
TOMB STONE Queen’s parents Covid restrictions limiting the memorial to 30 mourners.
Those in attendance will be in masks and the coffin will be taken from Windsor Castle to St George’s Chapel on a Land Rover modified according to instructions laid down by Philip.
His traditional coffin will be made of English oak and lined with lead. It was made decades ago so the Royal Family would not be caught out in the event of the Philip’s sudden death.
The funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh is likely to attract one of the largest television audiences of the year.
Broadcasters have yet to confirm their plans for Philip’s funeral on Saturday. But the BBC and ITV are likely to devote several hours to the event, including the ceremony at 3pm.
The funeral service of Princess Diana on September 6, 1997, was watched by 19.3 million people on BBC One and 11.7 million on ITV.
It remains one of the mostwatched live events in TV history.