We’re getting a better idea of what Prince Philip’s funeral will look like, and what people can expect from the Queen and the rest of the Windsor clan. First off, let me say – I really do feel sorry for Elizabeth. She fell in love with Philip when she was just a girl, and she was in love with him for the rest of her life. Of course they had issues, and of course I felt sorry for him simply because he could not live his last year on this earth at Wood Farm, which is where he wanted to be. But even with all of their issues, I expect her grief will be quite profound. Apparently, there’s a formal “eight-day period of mourning.”
The Queen is expected to enter an eight-day period of mourning following the death of Prince Philip today aged 99. The monarch will not carry out any duties even in private under Covid restrictions, laws will not be given the Royal Assent and affairs of state will also be paused. Following these eight days, a further period of official Royal Mourning is expected to continue for 30 days.
Officials at Buckingham Palace are now preparing for a royal ceremonial funeral at Windsor Castle in Berkshire in keeping with Philip’s wishes, with a military procession also expected in London – Covid laws permitting. A coffin with the Duke of Edinburgh’s body is expected to be moved at some point over the next few days to Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace in London.
This is also where Princess Diana lay for several days before her funeral in 1997. The public will not be allowed to view the body.
The Duke of Edinburgh is expected to then be buried in Frogmore Gardens, in the grounds of Windsor Castle. Following the Duke’s death, Union flags will fly at half-mast around Britain, but Philip will not lie in state and there will be no state funeral. The Lord Chamberlain, the most senior officer of the royal household, will be in charge of arrangements.
It’s my understanding that there won’t be a state funeral because he was not the monarch? I guess the Queen Mum got a state funeral, but she was Queen Consort. Philip was never King Consort because… reasons. Still, this is something the family and the institution has prepared for. The Queen’s funeral plans are called London Bridge, and Philip’s plans are referred to as Forth Bridge. There are binders full of funeral plans and protocols. For years, though, Philip wanted a smaller funeral, and that was before the pandemic.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red and WENN.
What’s the point of his body being at the Chapel Royal if the public can’t view it? Like why not keep him at Windsor if that’s where the funeral will be and that’s where he will be buried?
My guess is that Philip planned out what he wanted years ago and they are going to follow that. I also think that the Queen may not want a big state funeral for him – she may not want the world seeing her mourn, IDK. It’s a hard thing to lose someone that you’ve been with for that long, even if the relationship is complicated.
Im pretty sure philip had it mapped out. He had been struggling health wise for a while now. And being well into his 90’s im sure he knew it wouldn’t be long. I think he wouldn’t want a big funeral tho.
I don’t think Philip wanted a state funeral. If he did he would have been given one like the Queen mother, as they both had equal stature as the consort.
Yes. He was entitled to a state funeral but he didn’t want this. Under current covid rules only 30 people can attend a funeral.
This is going to be a logistic mess, I’ll just leave it at that. Now it’s just a matter of whether they will respect national law or do whatever they want.
I sincerely hope it will be a small private funeral. And about the king title. A king is technically higher up in rank than a queen. But since prince philip isn’t a born british royal he can’t be a king simply because he isn’t the monarch. The term king consort doesn’t exist as far as i know. If he were to be called king philip it would mean that he would he above Elizabeth in hierarchy and that’s is simply false, ergo prince. The same happened in the dutch monarchy. Queen Beatrix’ husband was called PRINCE Claus.
Interesting- great to have a clear, simple explanation- thank you
It was the case with the Danish royal family as well, Henrik was pretty pressed and bitter till the very end about it. He hated that he was below his wife in the hierarchy and that he was pushed further down when his son was named crowned prince. When he retired he chose to move away from his family and asked not to be buried next to his wife when he died because he never got the title of king consort, which does not exist for the reasons you stated.
Henrik is the wooooooooooorst.
Bitter indeed. That sounds so incredibly petty of him. Your wife outranks you by the luck of the draw. Get over it.
Interestingly, it was a relation of Philip’s, Ferdinand of Saxe Coburg, who was given the title of King. He married queen Maria of Portugal and the title was given after she had given birth to an heir. But he is one of the very few I can think of.
I thought he was entitled to a state funeral? But the pandemic and him wanting something smaller was more it?
Anyway, those newer pics of E and P look so strange to me. Like they’re photoshopped in.
It is my understanding that the Queen Mother had a big state funeral because she wanted a big state funeral and the state wanted her to have what she wanted as a “Thank You” for all she did from the Abdication until the death of her husband for The UK.
The more I hear about the Queen Mum, the more my feelings of dislike for her grow.
The more I hear, the more I agree with you.
She may go soon, too. RIP Prince Philip. Long live the Queen.
I think a private burial would be best and a virtual celebration of life would be the way to go considering both COVID and Philip’s wishes.
Right now it’s 30 people only at a funeral. One widow, 4 kids, 3 spouses and 8 grandkids with 6 spouses (if Meghan goes). That keeps it under 30. I think even the great-grandkids can attend then (the ones who aren’t literally babies).
I’m laughing to myself bc I was like, why only 3 spouses? Fergie basically counts. And then I remembered how much Philip hated her, ha. She’s definitely not going!
Ha! I was thinking about the ones who are still married and forgot Fergie existed for a moment. I do think she’ll probably turn up though now that I think about it – if only to support her daughters.
Brace yourselves for the barrage of articles castigating Harry TO come back for the funeral (“Harry MUST come to show his respect for his grandfather/grandmother/BRF!!) or for NOT coming (How DARE he spit in TQ’s face/Not honor his grandfather, who he “claimed” to love so well)… And if Harry DOES go: (How could he break Pandemic protocols and travel? Does he expect to skip quarantine? Does he not think of what he could be bringing to TQ!!??)
No win for Harry.
Oh, there will be a barrage of fiction for months to come. No matter what Harry does. So Harry should only do what’s right for him and not give the press a second thought.
This is what I’m saying! Harry is going to do what’s right for him and he’s not going to be controlled by William or the press.
Phillip didn’t want a state funeral. He made his wishes known years ago. So, it’s not about his status. He planned his funeral and Elizabeth is granting them. So, we know his funeral should be sometime around the 17th.
Omid Scobie is tweeting something different to what the Daily Mail has written. His body is not going to the Chapel Royal but staying in Windsor.
“UPDATE: In line with his wishes, Prince Philip will not receive a State Funeral and his body will not be Lying-in-State. Instead, the Duke will lie at Windsor Castle until his funeral in St George’s Chapel. Due to pandemic, public have been “regretfully requested” not to attend.”
https://twitter.com/scobie/status/1380520661844688906
Oh let’s not be fooled, this was an arranged marriage.
Okay so this makes more sense to me than taking the body to London for a few days. I wonder if they will televise the funeral or if it will be completely private?
It was, but they did have 72 years of companionship. The Queen has been described as the “loneliest woman in the world”, and Philip was one of the few close people she had in her life. Certainly one of the only ones not being paid. My grandpa is quite old, and he often talks of the sadness and loneliness of being one of the few people his age still alive. Most of his friends have died, and it breaks my heart.
Agreed. I think by the end she considered him a dear companion and a solid partner in crime when it came to managing the family.
I kind of feel sad for the Queen. She must be in a really dark place. Her family is in complete shambles and now her husband died. And a lot of her friends are gone too.
In reality he was being paid also. He was dethroned royalty who couch surfed between relatives according to what I’ve heard. He may have had a title when he was young but didn’t have anything else.
@Snuffle: yes also because losing someone so important at that age it’s tough no matter who you are.
People will still turn up at Windsor to pay their respects and see the attendees. The last few years, he was really on,y mentioned whenever he went to the hospital. Will the funeral service be televised?
I mean, my partner’s parents had an arranged marriage, and they grew to love each other. Now they’re almost co-dependent, and they genuinely enjoy each other’s company more than almost every other longstanding couple of my acquaintance. There are many kinds of love, and all of them are valid.
Also, Liz and Phil are/were the embodiment of everything wrong in Western society, death to the monarchy.
I feel sad for the queen (though I feel sadder for those who died young or lost family due to covid).. people wish for a long life but aging is scary&lonely you watch your closest family, your spouse& your friends die one by one.. I remember talking to this older lady while waiting for the bus saying how she lost lots of family members over just a few years..
This is what I have been thinking about for her. Queen Elizabeth might never be alone but I think she must have a very lonely life. Her father has been dead for almost 70 years and her mother and sister have been gone for almost 20 years. Her beloved cousin and friend died a few years ago, and most of her friends have been passing away in the last 10 years. Even her ladies in waiting are in their 80s. There are not many people left who share the same memories with her. It has to be hard to watch all your loved ones who are your contemporaries pass and to contemplate your own mortality.
A few years ago while traveling we visited a friends father,who was a bit depressed with health issues. He said the worst part of growing old was all your friends dying and burnout of going to funerals. Philip and theQueen really were of a different era and time.
My grandmother was 94 when she passed, and she outlived all of her siblings, a son, and many of her friends. I remember her getting angry after reading the obituary of yet another friend, that no one was going to be left to attend her funeral when she died. And she wanted/expected a grand one.
I remember reading a long time ago – in a biography of the Queen – about how, as usual, the courtiers, the enforcers of the Firm, made Philip’s life difficult when he first married Elizabeth. They didn’t want to let him have any sort of role, but basically just father children and support the Queen when she later ascended to the throne. He had to fight, with the Queen’s support, to carve out a space for himself in the establishment. Royals live and die, but ‘the establishment’ is forever, as Harry and Meghan have found out.
“Royals live and die, but ‘the establishment’ is forever,”
Except that it wasn’t for the French and Austrians and the Russians and the…. you get the point.
Sounds like the Establishment has always been a problem.
State funerals can be granted at the monarch’s discretion. The Duke of Wellington was given a state funeral, so was Winston Churchill.
I think the Windsors want a scaled back funeral because of the family fused spilled out be cause of the family fued and world press watching EVERYBODY.
We’ll get King Charles in less than five years. They’ll say she died of a broken heart but probably it will just be old age and general loneliness. She has no peers left.
I feel this will be the case, as well. I don’t even think it will be 5 years.
He was Prince Consort rather than King Consort because of sexism. A man must always outrank a woman of the same rank. If there is ever another queen (doubt the monarchy will get that far), I bet her husband (if she has one) will be King Consort.
Or Camilla being Princess Consort will set the new precendent, and in future the spouse of the reigning monarch will be Prince/Princess Consort.
Sincere condolences, HM Queen Elizabeth.