UK: Prince Philip’s funeral held in Windsor – 20 minutes
Sitting alone during the ceremony and all in black dressed to the mask, Queen Elisabeth II bid farewell to her husband Prince Philip on Saturday, who supported her for more than seven decades.
The prince, who died “peacefully” eight days ago at Windsor Castle at the age of 99, now rests in the vault of Saint George’s Chapel, on the grounds of the royal residence, at the end of a sober ceremony, in a small committee because of the pandemic, and millimeter.
His coffin will remain in the crypt until the Queen joins him there. The spouses thus reunited will then have as their final abode the Memorial Chapel of King George VI, father of Elizabeth II.
A small procession and a minute of silence
A few days before her 95th birthday, the Queen paid tribute, surrounded by the closest members of the royal family, to the one she defined as her “strength” and her “support”, since her coronation in 1952. Known for her outspokenness and his jokes – sometimes flirting with racism or sexism – the prince consort, with the record longevity in the history of the country, would have been 100 years old on June 10.
During the ceremony, the Dean of Windsor paid tribute to his “unwavering loyalty” to the Queen, her “courage”, “strength of soul” and “faith”.
Limited to 30 people due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the ceremony at Windsor Castle was accompanied by a minute of silence across the UK at 3 p.m.
Covered with the Duke of Edinburgh’s personal standard, sword, Navy cap and a wreath of flowers, the coffin was carried in the back of a military green Land Rover that Prince Philip had himself helped conceive for 16 years.
Led by Charles, the Crown Prince, and his sister Princess Anne, the short procession, followed by the Queen in her Bentley, accompanied the coffin to the chapel for religious service.
Brothers watched
In the third line in the funeral procession, behind the children of the Queen and Prince Philip, were their grandsons William and Harry. The two brothers, with weak relations, exchanged a few words when they left the chapel.
During the procession, they were separated by their cousin Peter Phillips, son of Princess Anne. This choice was widely commented on in the press, on the lookout for any sign of reconciliation between the two sons of Prince Charles.
In 1997, the two brothers had both followed side by side the coffin of their mother Princess Diana, tragically died in a car accident in Paris, pursued by paparazzi.
It was the first time since his shattering withdrawal and his departure across the Atlantic that Prince Harry had found the royal family in public, whom he accused of racism and indifference to his Métis wife Meghan Markle, in an interview resounding granted to American host Oprah Winfrey. Pregnant with their second child, Meghan remained in the United States on the advice of her doctor.
Distanced tributes
Absent from the family-only ceremony, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who followed her from the Checkers government residence, posted a photo on Twitter showing him with his head bowed in tribute.
In terms of clothing, the royal family has endeavored to present a united front. All wore civilian clothes, thus avoiding distinguishing between Princes Andrew and Harry, both very attached to the army but withdrawn from the monarchy.
Even though he still belongs to the Navy, the appearance in uniform of Prince Andrew, the Queen’s second son and ex-helicopter pilot, would have looked bad, his reputation having recently been heavily tarnished by his friendship with the deceased. American financier Jeffrey Epstein, prosecuted for trafficking in minors.
Although the public has been urged not to congregate outside the royal residences due to the pandemic, Windsor was buzzing with onlookers and locals, bouquets of flowers in hand.