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Prince Philip’s funeral will follow Covid guidelines with only 30 guests

Prince Philip’s funeral will be held on Saturday 17 April at 3pm at St George’s chapel in Windsor in an intimate ceremony.

The Duke of Edinburgh had previously said that he did not want the ‘fuss’ of lying in state at Westminster Hall.

Buckingham Palace will follow Prince Philip’s wishes to have a simple ceremony instead of a grand State funeral.

The royal ceremonial funeral will be organised following current Covid pandemic guidelines, which only permit 30 guests. The guest list to be confirmed on Thursday. 

Guns will be fired and curfew bells will toll while Royal Family members walk behind the coffin. The Queen will travel separately to the chapel.

The coffin will be carried by eight pallbearers decorated with the Duke’s standard with a wreath and the duke’s naval cap and sword on top. The Archbishop of Canterbury will carry out the ceremony. 

Prince Harry will travel from the United States by himself to join the ceremony as Meghan is currently pregnant with their second child due sometime in the coming months.

According to official travel requirements, the prince might need to self-isolate for a minimum of five days after arriving in England, unless he is granted a diplomatic exemption. 

Members of the public have been asked to respect Covid guidelines and not to gather in person due to ongoing mass gathering restrictions.

Condolences have gone virtual too, as the public has been invited to write their messages in a digital ‘Book of Condolences’ available at the Royal Family Website.

Instead of leaving flowers at royal residences, donations to a preferred charity or one of the organisations which The Duke of Edinburgh supported during his public duties are encouraged for those wishing to pay their respects.

Despite multiple complaints and controversy about the amount of coverage surrounding the Duke’s death, the funeral will be televised and aired live on the BBC. 

Further details about the funeral will be confirmed in the coming days.

You can read all of SWL’s Prince Philip coverage here.

Featured image credit: Flickr, Chris Beckett (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

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Elaine Goodfellow
Elaine Goodfellow
10 April 2021 7:17 pm

Surely if the funeral is following Covid guidelines, there shouldn’t be any pallbearers?

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