Royal Vault will not be final resting place for Prince Philip

The Duke of Edinburgh was last night interred in the Royal Vault of St George’s Chapel – but this will not be his final resting place. When the Queen dies, Philip will be transferred to the Gothic church’s King George VI memorial chapel to lie alongside his devoted wife of 73 years.

The tiny chapel houses the remains of the Queen’s father, George VI; her mother, the Queen Mother; and sister, Princess Margaret.

The central feature of the pale, stone annexe, which was added on to the north side of St George’s behind the North Quire Aisle in 1969, is a black stone slab set into the floor.

It is inscribed with “George VI” and “Elizabeth” in gold lettering and accompanied by their years of birth and death.

After yesterday’s funeral, the Duke’s coffin was interred in the Royal Vault – a burial place set beneath St George’s Chapel – for the time being.

The Royal Vault at Windsor was created between 1804 and 1810 for George III, who died in 1820 and is one of three kings buried there.

Also interred in the vault are George IV and William IV.

Others buried there include George III’S wife Queen Charlotte and their daughter Princess Amelia, and Queen Victoria’s father the Duke of Kent. George VI died in 1952 and was first interred in the Royal Vault and moved to the memorial chapel when it was built 17 years later.