Following instructions left by the Duke of Edinburgh himself, Prince Philip’s coffin was carried from the state entrance at Windsor Castle to St. George’s Chapel before his funeral service. Accompanied by the Dean of Windsor and Lord Chamberlain, the duke’s coffin was followed by a coterie of senior royals including his sons Prince Charles, Prince Edward, and Prince Andrew; daughter Princess Anne; grandsons Prince William, Prince Harry, and Peter Phillips; nephew David Linley, the Earl of Snowdon; and son-in-law Sir Timothy Laurence. The family walked slowly and silently behind the custom Land Rover that bore the coffin, which was adorned with a flag with his personal standard, his naval sword, hat, and a wreath of flowers.
Though there was a strong military presence in the procession, reflecting the Duke’s connection to the armed forces, the members of the royal family did not appear in uniform. Several family members did wear their military medals, including Harry, who wore his KCVO Neck Order and Star, Afghanistan Campaign medal, Gold Jubilee medal, and Diamond Jubilee medal.
The Queen did not participate in the procession, but traveled from the castle to St. George’s Chapel in a Bentley, accompanied by a lady-in-waiting who is part of her Covid-safe bubble.
The powerful image of the royal family united to mourn their patriarch carries inevitable echoes of the 1997 funeral procession for Princess Diana, where young Harry and William were joined by their father, grandfather, and uncle Earl Spencer to walk behind their mother’s coffin. The circumstances surrounding the funeral for Prince Philip, who died at the age of 99 following a March heart operation, are significantly different. But it comes in another moment marked by tension in the royal family, as the funeral has reunited Harry with his family for the first time since he and his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, stepped back as senior royals over a year ago.
As laid out in plans released by Buckingham Palace last week, the coffin was carried by a bearer party of the Queen’s Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards. On the grass in the castle’s quadrangle were representative detachments drawn from Philip’s military special relationships, as well as the Household Cavalry and the Foot Guards. Though the funeral was closed to the public given pandemic restrictions on large gatherings, members of the military were invited to take part in the procession to reflect Philip’s long-standing relationship with the armed forces. The Band of the Grenadier Guards, of which Philip was colonel for 42 years, led the procession to St. George’s Chapel, and were followed by the Major General’s Party and then the service chiefs. The coffin, borne on a Land Rover, was flanked by pallbearers drawn from the duke’s special relationships— the Royal Marines, regiments, corps, and air stations.
In addition, the route of the procession was lined by representatives drawn from the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the Highlanders, 4th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland, and the Royal Air Force. Minute guns were fired by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery from the east lawn of Windsor Castle for the duration of the procession, and the Curfew Tower bell rang.
Like his uncle Dickie Mountbatten, Philip wanted his body carried in a customized open top Land Rover which he had a hand in designing 18 years ago. Practical, sensible and sturdy, the Duke loved driving his Land Rovers and wanted his final journey to be in one of the vehicles. Ironically it was only two years ago when the Duke was involved in a serious crash at Sandringham when he was pulled out of the wreckage of his Land Rover but managed to walk away with only bruises.
His beloved carriage and fell ponies were also be parked in the Quadrangle in the castle grounds in a moving reminder of the Duke’s passion for carriage driving, a sport he loved, wrote the rules for, and continued into his 90s.
The procession preceded a service inside St. George’s Chapel, where Philip’s grandchildren Prince Harry and Princess Eugenie both had their weddings in recent years.
Prince Philip died on April 9 at the age of 99, having recently returned home after a monthlong hospital stay that included a heart procedure. His death came during a remarkably turbulent time for the royal family that began with Harry and Meghan’s departure from Britain, included Prince William and Prince Charles contracting Covid, and has continued through the fallout from Harry and Meghan’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey. The death of the family patriarch, however, has reportedly united the royal family in grief. Brothers William and Harry, who have reportedly barely spoken in the past year, both paid effusive tribute to their grandfather in public statements. “My grandfather was a man of service, honour and great humour,” Harry wrote. “He was authentically himself, with a seriously sharp wit, and could hold the attention of any room due to his charm—and also because you never knew what he might say next.”
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