Duke’s farewell will be family affair

The Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral will be a simple family affair held at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, tomorrow at 3pm.

In line with coronavirus restrictions there will be 30 mourners led by his wife of more than 73 years Her Majesty The Queen, to Prince Philip his ‘Lilibet’.

The Duke passed away peacefully, aged 99, with the Queen at his side at Windsor Castle on the morning of Friday April 9.

As expressed by his own wishes, he will not be given a state funeral.

The Duke will be given a military funeral, with a private service held at St George’s Chapel and burial in Frogmore Gardens.

Prince Philip’s body is resting in the private Albert Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle and will be moved on to St George’s Chapel ahead of the funeral.

The funeral will begin with a national minute’s silence at 3pm and will be broadcast live on TV.

The ceremony will end with his body being taken to lie in the Royal Vault within St George’s Chapel.

The coffin will be moved to the state entrance of Windsor Castle by a bearer party from the Grenadier Guards, the elite Queen’s Company regiment at Windsor.

The ceremonial procession will set off from the state entrance at 14.45pm with the Duke’s oldest son the Prince of Wales and members of Royal Family following on foot behind the coffin for the eightminute procession.

Princes William and Harry are expected to join their father along with the Duke’s daughter Princess Anne and his younger sons Princes Edward and Andrew.

Guns will be fired by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery for each minute of the procession.

ECO-pioneer Prince Philip is set to be given a green funeral – with an electric Land Rover, he helped to design – carrying his coffin.

The Land Rover is believed to be a modified Defender 130 Gun Bus. It is well known the Duke wanted no fuss. He once said: “Just stick me in the back of a Land Rover and drive me to Windsor”.

The Royal Family and Jaguar Land Rover have a very strong collaboration going back decades. Land Rovers are always used by members of the family when out in official capacity, and the Duke was particularly fond of them.

The chosen undertakers, Leverton and Sons, were founding members of the Association of Green Funeral Directors, and used Britain’s first all-electric hearse.

His coffin will be draped in his personal standard. A wreath and his naval cap and sword will be on top.

Plans for the funeral – codenamed Operation Forth Bridge – have been approved by the Queen and will be carried out with military precision, including a nationwide minute’s silence at 3pm. Mourners will be expected to wear face masks and socially distance throughout.

The Queen, however, will be able to stand close to and be comforted by those in her personal bubble.