With respect, let’s end death circus

■ I was saddened by the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, especially at a time when our Queen has had so much to contend with, thanks to her grandson Harry.

In a lot of ways Prince Philip was a great man and certainly a great character. A tribute to his life and achievements was fitting. But not for the BBC to cancel every TV and radio programme from midday on Friday onwards, with ITV changing its schedules too.

I feel certain Prince Philip wouldn’t have wanted a tenth of it. But I bet he’d have a good laugh at the pompous prigs reading through their pre-prepared miles of script!

Let’s grieve for him, as we did for the Queen Mother, privately and sincerely without, as Kevin Maguire said, “turning his death into a circus” (Mirror, April 12). Peter Lewis, Chatham, Kent

■ I agreed with every word of Kevin Maguire’s column. I cannot understand the reaction to a royal death. This man has lived a privileged life and never wanted for anything, unlike the rest of us. I worked for 55 years and brought up a family before I retired and now, at 76, I have to live each week on what the privileged spend on a meal out. Will I be watching his funeral? No. He is not someone I can relate to in any way. Keep up the good work, Kevin.

John Hardy, Hull

■ I was disappointed to read Kevin Maguire’s article in which he refers to the mourning of the late Prince Philip as a “circus” and that his funeral arrangements treat Philip “as though he were a god”.

No one is suggesting he was perfect – I imagine he’d be the first to admit he had flaws – but he also had many admirable qualities, and a distinguished naval service during the Second World War.

Mr Maguire has never made any secret of his republican sympathies but most of the country would like to see the monarchy continue. Keeley-Jasmine Cavendish South East London

■ It’s very sad that the Duke of Edinburgh has died. However, I found the wall-to-wall TV coverage very hard to understand. Surely even the staunchest royalist would not want to watch endless coverage? A couple of hours was more than sufficient.

What on earth was the point of both BBC1 and BBC2 showing identical programmes for the whole evening? Totally bizarre and extremely annoying for those less than enamoured of the royals. Gordon Pilkington, Epsom, Surrey

■ As much as I admired and respected Prince Philip and was so sad to hear of his passing, I feel that the BBC and its wall-to-wall reporting, not just on BBC1, but on BBC2 and the 24-hour news channel, all at the same time, was really too much.

He was a hugely respected figure worldwide and it is right his death is recorded, but bombarding us with coverage has become boring. Tom Baxter, Denny, Stirlingshire

■ I would like to remind all those people who complained about one day of tributes to Prince Philip that it was just one day.

When Princess Diana passed away, it was every channel virtually every day until the funeral. And not everyone was a fan of Diana, including me. But I showed respect to those who grieved.

Republicans should respect the grief that many are feeling alongside Her Majesty the Queen. Jane Robinson, Birmingham

■ Monarchy is undemocratic, unmeritocratic and unaccountable. It infantilises its subjects into degradingly deferential and hysterical behaviour.

And a “modern monarchy” is an oxymoron. It’s about time Britain entered the 21st century and got rid of the monarchy.

Cyril Meadows, North London