WINDSOR, England (UK) – Queen Elizabeth, dressed in black and in a white trimmed black face mask, stood alone, head bowed as her husband of 73 years was lowered into the Royal Vault of St George’s Chapel in a service attended by senior royals including heir Prince Charles. The funeral celebrated Prince Philip’s seven decades of service and gave grandsons William and Harry the chance to talk in public for the first time since claims of racism threw the family into crisis.
Prince Harry, who flew from the United States to attend the funeral, walked and talked with his brother William and wife Kate at the end of the service – the first time they have spoken in public since Harry and his wife Meghan gave an explosive interview to Oprah Winfrey last month.
“We have been inspired by his unwavering loyalty to our Queen, by his service to the Nation and the Commonwealth, by his courage, fortitude and faith,” Dean of Windsor David Conner said.
Queen’s husband’s coffin was borne to the chapel on a bespoke Land Rover Defender TD 130 in military green that Philip himself helped to design, as a minute gun fired eight times.
Philip’s children and grandchildren followed behind on foot, evoking memories of the 1997 funeral of Diana when William and Harry – then just 15 and 12 – walked behind their mother’s coffin.
His naval cap and sword lay on top of the coffin, which was covered with the Duke of Edinburgh’s personal standard featuring the Danish coat of arms, the Greek cross, Edinburgh Castle and the stripes of the Mountbatten family.
A wreath of white roses, lilies and jasmine from the queen also adorned the coffin.
There were just 30 mourners inside the chapel because of continuing coronavirus restrictions in Britain. As the service began at 3 p.m.(1400 GMT), Prime Minister Boris Johnson observed a minute’s silence, along with millions of Britons.
Before the procession, military bands spaced out across the quadrangle of Windsor Castle in brilliant sunshine to play the prince’s chosen music, including “I Vow To Thee My Country”, “Jerusalem” and “Nimrod”.
The four-person choir sang a sailors’ hymn, “Eternal Father, Strong to Save”. Shortly before the coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault, the Russian “Kontakion of the Departed”, a hymn of the Orthodox and Eastern churches, echoed around the ancient church.
There were no eulogies, just brief words of praise for the prince from the dean of Windsor and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in their prayers.
Elizabeth has been widowed just as she grapples with one of the gravest crises to hit the royal family in decades – allegations of racism and neglect by it from Harry and Meghan, his American-born wife.
As the service ended, buglers from the Royal Marines sounded the “Last Post” and then “Action Stations” to honour the late duke’s World War Two naval service, before choir sang the national anthem.
Elizabeth left for the castle’s apartments in her car but other royals decided to walk up the hill to the main part of Windsor Castle.
The palace emphasised beforehand that while the occasion would have the due pageantry that marks the passing of a senior royal, it remained an occasion for a mourning family to mark the passing of a husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
Mourners eschewed the tradition of wearing military uniforms, a step newspapers said was to prevent embarrassment to Harry, who despite serving two tours in Afghanistan during his army career, is not entitled to wear a uniform because he was stripped of his honorary military titles.
Philip’s dedication to his duty earned him widespread popularity in Britain, but he was also criticised by some for a number of off-the-cuff racist or abrupt comments which shocked princes, priests and presidents.
“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,” Harry said earlier this week of his grandfather.