Archbishop praises Philip’s
service to nation and CW.
Berkshire
Queen Elizabeth and her family paid their last respects to Prince Philip at a funeral on Saturday that celebrated his naval past, his international heritage and seven decades of service in which he helped guide the queen through repeated crises.
Elizabeth, dressed in black and in a white trimmed black mask, stood alone as her husband of 73 years was lowered into the Royal Vault in a service attended by senior royals including heir Prince Charles and his sons Prince William and Prince Harry.
The queen was placed alone in the ceremony at St George’s Chapel with her children, grandchildren and a select group of royal mourners, separated due to Covid-19 rules.
Philip, officially known as the Duke of Edinburgh, died aged 99 on April 9.
The queen in 1997 described Philip as her “strength and stay” over their decades of marriage.
The archbishop praised Philip’s “life of service to the nation and Commonwealth, and for the courage and inspiration of his leadership.”
After the nation observed a minute’s silence in sunshine, Harry and William took up their places on opposite sides of the chapel in Windsor Castle, with the final resting place of Tudor monarch Henry VIII dividing them.
Philip’s naval cap and sword lay on top of the coffin, which was covered with the Duke of Edinburgh’s personal standard featuring the Danish coat of arms, the Greek cross, Edinburgh Castle and the stripes of the Mountbatten family.
A wreath of white roses, lilies and jasmine from the 94-year-old queen also adorned the coffin.
The Queen, in black and wearing Queen Mary’s eye-catching Richmond brooch, arrived in the state Bentley, other senior royals in a fleet of Rolls Royce Phantoms.
Stripped of the ceremonial carapace of military uniforms, those who walked behind the coffin, in step and in silence, somehow appeared more vulnerable in morning and day dress with medals.
Eyes, inevitably, were on the grandsons, Princes William and Harry, amid reports of their rift.
Physically separated in the procession by their cousin, Peter Phillips, their eyes remained front-facing throughout, betraying nothing.
The siblings were seated apart and directly opposite on different sides of the 15th-century quire aisle, William with Kate, Harry alone.
At the end of the service, however, William and Harry chatted as they walked with Kate up the hill towards the castle. – Agencies
