Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II and who died on April 9 at the age of 99, will have his funeral this Saturday the 17th.
The royal ceremony will take place in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, on the outskirts of London, at 3 p.m. local time (11 a.m. Brasilia time).
The prince’s body is now in the private chapel at Windsor.
There are reports that in his lifetime he asked for his funeral to be simple, and his body has not been or will be on display to the public.
But the procession and the funeral service will be televised in the UK.
Who will attend the ceremony
Due to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic in England, official rules state that funerals can only be attended by 30 people, maintaining social distancing. So it will be a much smaller ceremony than it would have been in pre-pandemic times – although Buckingham Palace says this current model “reflects the Duke’s wishes” and yet “will celebrate and reflect his life of service. public”.
In Prince Philip’s case, the guest list includes family members, including three of his German relatives.
Prince Harry, his grandson, who now lives in California, will be in attendance. But his wife, Meghan, who is pregnant, will not travel from the United States to England on medical advice.
This will be the first time Harry has returned to the UK since he stepped down as a senior member of the Royal Family last year.
It is believed that everyone will have to wear masks, in line with UK government requirements.
The clerics in charge of the ceremony and the casket bearers are not included in the maximum number of participants.
How the ceremony will take place
Your funeral will be ceremonial, not a state. The difference is subtle: State funerals are usually reserved for monarchs, although Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who ruled the UK during WWII, received such a funeral ceremony. The Queen Mother, as Elizabeth II’s mother was called, had a ceremonial funeral in 2002, as did Princess Diana in 1997.
At Philip’s funeral, the casket will be transported from the private chapel to one of the entrances to Windsor Castle, placed in a modified Land Rover vehicle (which the Duke himself helped design) and transported to St George.
Members of the royal family will walk in procession from the entrance to the castle. Behind the Land Rover will be Princes Charles, Andrew, Edward and Anne, the Duke’s sons and grandchildren William and Harry, as well as Anne’s son Peter Phillips, and her husband, Vice Admiral Tim Laurence . Members of the Philip Palace team will chase them.
The Queen will go at the end of the procession, inside a Bentley vehicle.
There will be gunshots and the national anthem played by a military orchestra.
Only members of the royal family will enter the chapel. The rest of the participants will wait outside.
At 3 p.m. (11 a.m. GMT), a nationwide minute’s silence will be held in honor of the Duke.
Inside the chapel, in addition to the religious service, there will be a choir of four singers singing songs chosen by the Duke himself. After the ceremony, your body will be placed in a royal safe.
The coffin is enveloped by Philip’s personal flag, with depictions of his life, from his Greek origin to the titles of British royalty – in reference, for example, to Edinburgh, which appears in his title of Duke.
When Philip married Elizabeth 2nd in 1946, he relinquished the Greek title and became a British citizen, adopting his mother’s Anglicized surname, Mountbatten, which is also depicted on the flag.
As for the British public in general, the request is not to go to the entrance of the castle, due to health restrictions.
On the Royal Family’s website, there is a request for the public to donate to charities, instead of leaving flowers in tribute to the Duke. An online condolence book has also been created.
When the funeral is over, the period of national mourning will end. The royals, for their part, will continue to watch mourning for another week – wearing black or black mourning bands if they participate in a public engagement.