SO GENTLE
Duke’s death was ‘just like someone took him by the hand... and off he went’
THE DUKE of Edinburgh’s final moments were ‘ so gentle and very, very peaceful’, his daughter-in-law has revealed – as if ‘someone took him by the hand nd and off he went’.
Sophie, Countess of Wessex, said of his death on Friday at the age of 99: ‘It’s such a shock. At the same me time, you know it’s going to happen, but when it happens it’s just this massive, massive hole.
‘It was right for him and it was so gentle. It was just st like someone took him by the hand and off he went. t.
‘It was very, very peaceful and that’s all you want nt for somebody, isn’t it?’
The countess, her husband Prince Edward and his brother the Duke of York spoke to well-wishers after er a service of prayer for Prince Philip in Windsor – and nd as the family prepared for Saturday’s funeral.
Prince Harry – whose TV interview with wife fe Meghan shook the royals only last month – was said id to have arrived back in the UK yesterday lunchtime. e. .
He is due to be reunited with brother Prince William as they walk behind their grandfather’s coffin.
Prince Andrew – still wanted for questioning by the he FBI over his friendship with sex offender Jeffrey ey Epstein and making a rare public appearance – said: d: ‘Unfortunately my father’s death has brought home me
to me not just our loss, but the loss so many people have died and lost loved ones during the pandemic.
‘We’ve lost almost the grandfather of the nation and I feel very sorry and supportive of my mother who I think is feeling it probably more than anyone else.’
Andrew, who stepped down from royal duties over the storm in 2019 but has denied all wrongdoing, said: ‘He was a remarkable man, I loved him as a father.
‘He was so calm, if you had a problem he was always someone you could go to.’
After the service at the Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge in Windsor, Prince Edward said: ‘It’s been a bit of a shock, however much one tries to prepare oneself for something like this, it’s still a dreadful shock and we are trying to come to terms with that.
‘It’s very, very sad. But I have to say the extraordinary tributes and memories everybody has had, and been willing to share, have been so fantastic.’
The Queen, 94, yesterday took part in a private mass in Windsor Castle.
And the royals gave an insight to her feelings as she continues to mourn her husband of 73 years.
The Duke of York added: ‘The queen, as you would expect, is an incredibly stoic person and she described his passing as a miracle. She’s contemplating, is the way I would put it.
‘She described it as having left a huge void in her life but we, the family, are rallying around to make sure that we’re there to support her.
‘I know there is a huge amount of support not just for her but for everybody as we go through this enormous change.’
Sophie – at the service with daughter Lady Louise Windsor, 17 – wiped away a tear before saying that the Queen had been ‘thinking of others before herself as always’ and described her as ‘bearing up’.
She added: ‘I think it is so much easier for the person that goes than the people who are left behind.
‘We are all sitting here looking at each other going “this is awful”.
‘But equally, look at all the tributes. It’s just amazing.’ But there were happy memories amid yesterday’s sombre scenes.
Edward recalled how the carriagedriving duke enjoyed riding in the grounds at Windsor, prompting his wife to joke: ‘He was pulled out of a few ditches here as well, I seem to remember.’ Their daughter has taken up the equestrian sport Philip loved.
Saturday’s funeral at Windsor will begin around 2.40pm with a procession from the Castle’s state entrance.
At 3pm the service at St George’s Chapel will begin with a minute’s silence, joined by millions across the county. Only 30 guests will be in the chapel because of social distancing. Harry’s wife the Duchess of Sussex will not attend because of her pregnancy and will stay at home in California, it has been confirmed.
Hundreds of mourners yesterday defied official advice to stay away over coronavirus fears by flocking Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace in London to leave floral tributes outside.
The royal family has urged members of the public who want to pay their respects to consider making a donation to one of 992 charitable organisation with which Philip supported or had been associated with instead.
Official guidance said it would be a ‘fitting way of paying tribute to his remarkable legacy’. An online book of condolence has been opened at royal.uk.