Prince Philip began his final journey on Saturday, as his coffin was taken to his funeral, through the grounds of Windsor Castle to St George’s Chapel followed slowly by his grieving children and widow, Queen Elizabeth II.
Accompanied by the Dean of Windsor and Lord Chamberlain, the duke’s coffin was followed by a coterie of senior royals.
The couple’s four children —Prince Charles, Princess Anne,Prince Andrew and Prince Edward — walked behind the coffin, borne on a modified Land Rover hearse, which was adorned with a flag with his personal standard,his naval sword, hat and a wreath of flowers
Accompanying them were his grandsons, princes William and Harry, and the Queen, who was in a Bentley car.
PRINCE ANDREW, DUKE OF YORK, PRINCE EDWARD, EARL OF WESSEX, PRINCE WILLIAM, DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE, PETER PHILLIPS, PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX, EARL OF SNOWDON DAVID ARMSTRONG-JONES AND VICE-ADMIRAL SIR TIMOTHY LAURENCE FOLLOW PRINCE PHILIP, DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S COFFIN DURING THE CEREMONIAL PROCESSION DURING THE FUNERAL OF PRINCE PHILIP, DUKE OF EDINBURGH AT WINDSOR CASTLE ON APRIL 17, 2021 IN WINDSOR, ENGLAND.(BY WPA POOL/GETTY)
In a video message released on Saturday, Charles said that he believed his father, who he called his “dear Papa,” “would have been amazed” by the outpouring of love and support.
“My dear Papa was a very special person who I think above all else would have been amazed by the reaction and the touching things that have been said about him and from that point of view we are, my family, deeply grateful for all that,” the eldest child of Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth said. “It will sustain us in this particular loss and at this particularly sad time.”
Saturday’s service will be known as a ceremonial royal funeral and not a state funeral, which is generally reserved for monarchs. The funeral plans take into account the country’s COVID guidelines and are “much reduced in scale with no public access,” a palace spokesman announced over the weekend.
