Royal funeral praised for ‘no fuss’ simplicity

REFLECTIONS of the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral dominated Sunday’s opinion columns.

Mail on Sunday

Sarah Vine wrote: “Yesterday’s service at St George’s Chapel exemplified the spirit of the late Duke: sublime in its spartan simplicity, nimble and faultless in its execution, elegant and dignified and – for a grand State occasion – incredibly poignant and personal.

“The enormity of the Queen’s loss was brought into sharp focus by the stark circumstances, dictated by

Covid, that saw her sitting utterly alone in front of her husband’s coffin. She looked so small and so bleak, more like a little Italian widow than a Monarch, a great Queen who has outlived and outlasted them all. And in her moment of grief was reflected the experience of countless of her subjects, far too many of whom have had to say their farewells to loved ones in similarly solitary circumstances.”

Sunday Telegraph

Hugo Vickers wrote: “The idea of turning 100 filled him [Duke of Edinburgh] with dread.

“But he had a more acute sense of history than was evident. Having loved [Windsor] castle, it having been the birthplace of his mother, he was happy to be back there and determined not to leave it again. I hope the last 24 days he spent there afforded him elements of tranquillity.

“How much input he had in the new hastily but meticulously devised [funeral] plans is uncertain, given the circumstances, but he had plenty before, most obviously in the custombuilt hearse. He would have been sorry to disappoint the many who wished to pay their respects – the lines of Duke of Edinburgh gold award winners and others – but would have relished no fuss.”

Sunday Times

Meghan Agnew wrote: “In the last week, I have read chronologies of the Duke’s childhood, lists of military achievements, accounts of the huge numbers of official tours he attended and some polite praise from royal staff.

“There have been glimpses of Philip’s true personality but mostly it is absent. Even after his death, none of us really knew who he was. Suzanne Mackie, one of the producers on Netflix’s The Crown, brilliantly articulated the tension between public and private, which exists at the very centre of royalty.

“‘Letting the light in on the magic,’ she told me last year, ‘that’s where you go wrong’.”

Sun on Sunday

Penny Junor wrote: “The sheer stoicism [the Queen] showed at the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral needed to be seen to be believed as she sat in isolation in St George’s Chapel due to Covid restrictions.

“Yes, a rare tear that she quickly wiped away did fall, but the bravery she summoned today was inspirational.”