The UK bid its final goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II’s husband, prince Philip, with a national one-minute’s silence that marked the beginning of his funeral at Windsor Castle, in a ceremony that was restricted to only 30 members of the royal family to comply with the COVID-19 restrictions.
The duke of Edinburgh, the longest-serving consort of any British monarch died on April 9 at the age of 99 at Windsor Castle, where his body had been resting in the private chapel until he was laid to rest in the royal vault of the St George’s Chapel.
Following his death, the UK entered eight days of national mourning, but the public was asked not to gather at Windsor, some 50 kilometres west of London, or at any other royal residence because of the pandemic, as the whole service was broadcast on national television.
More than 700 servicemen and servicewomen from the army, navy, air force and marines were deployed with the stately walls of Windsor Castle and performed ceremonial roles in tribute to the prince’s military services.
His coffin was loaded on a specially adapted Land Rover jeep, designed by Philip himself, to make the eight-minute trip from the castle to St. George’s Chapel, escorted by his four children – Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward – and grandsons William and Harry, who walked separated by their cousin Peter Phillips. The 94-year-old queen rode in a Bentley car behind the procession.
Inside the chapel, where the funeral service was conducted by the Dean of Windsor, reverend David Conner, and the archbishop of Canterbury and leader of the Church of England, Justin Welby, Elizabeth II sat apart from the rest of the family to comply with the COVID-19 social distancing measures.
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