On Saturday, the royal family will gather at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle to pay their final respects to Prince Philip, who died last week at age 99.
Under normal circumstances, the death of a royal of Philip’s stature would involve a huge procession, public mourning, and funeral with over 800 people in attendance. But due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson announced last week that the service will be “much reduced in scale” with only thirty people in attendance and “no public access.” However, the funeral, which will be held on April 17 at 3 p.m. local time, will be televised so that mourners are able to participate from home. In the U.K., BBC One, Sky, and ITN will begin their coverage of the ceremony at 12:30 p.m., while, in America, NBC News will begin broadcasting beginning at 9:30 a.m. EST on both their network and their streaming service, NBC News Now. Canadian viewers can tune in to CTV News which will begin live coverage at 8am EST. The ceremony will begin with a National Minute’s Silence.
Ahead of the church service, beginning around 2:45 p.m. local time, there will be a ceremonial procession on the Windsor Castle grounds during which, per Philip’s wishes, his body will be transported to the chapel via a Land Rover the Duke of Edinburgh helped to modify. Prince Charles will lead the procession behind it, joined by his sons Prince Harry and Prince William. Other senior royals are also expected to join the procession, including Philip’s other three children, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, as well as their spouses. But sources have told Vanity Fair that Queen Elizabeth will not be amongst them.
A spokesperson for 10 Downing Street confirmed that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not attend in order to free up a space for others. After the funeral, the family will remain in mourning for two weeks, as is royal protocol, meaning they will continue to wear their mourning bands during all public engagements.
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