San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
PRINCE PHILIP’S FUNERAL TO BE AT WINDSOR CASTLE ON APRIL 17
Buckingham Palace announced Saturday that Prince Philip’s funeral will take place at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on April 17 — but in keeping with government lockdown measures, the ceremony will be “much reduced in scale with no public access.”
The palace said the number of mourners will be limited to 30. Both the British government and the royal family asked the public to stay home rather than pay respects in person. There will be no public processions or viewings.
Philip was the longestserving consort in British history and husband to Queen Elizabeth II for 73 years, and the royal family said he expressed his wishes for a low-key affair. He died Friday at age 99, just two months shy of the century mark. There will be eight days of national mourning.
Prince Harry will travel from Southern California to attend the funeral, but his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, will not — based on medical advice, a spokeswoman for the couple said. Meghan is pregnant with their second child, due in the summer. She suffered a miscarriage last year, which she wrote about in The New York Times.
The funeral list is so tight that Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would not attend to open a spot for a member of the royal family. Philip and Elizabeth have four children, eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, plus their spouses.
The funeral will take place entirely within the walls of Windsor Castle. The palace announced: “His Royal Highness’s coffin will be carried in a purpose-built Land Rover — which The Duke was involved in the design of — flanked by military Pall Bearers, in a small Ceremonial Procession from the State Entrance to St George’s Chapel, for the Funeral Service.”
Around the country on Saturday, signs of mourning were everywhere: royal staff in black, a 41-round gun salute. The Union Jack was at half-staff, and will remain so until a day after the funeral.
Despite restrictions against large gatherings, Britons, nonetheless, continued to gather to leave f loral tributes in front of palaces and mark the moment in pictures and collective mourning.