Prince Charles’ tribute to ‘dear papa’, Prince Harry flying home, funeral details revealed
Prince Philip’s last words to Prince Charles were revealed as he shared his own video tribute. Doctors ruled on whether Meghan would fly with Harry to the funeral.
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Prince Charles has paid tribute to his “dear papa”, saying that Prince Philip would have been “amazed” at the reaction to his passing.
In the most detailed personal reaction so far, The Prince of Wales said: “As you can imagine, my family and I miss my father enormously.
The Prince of Wales, 72, made a video statement outside his property Highgrove in Gloucestershire, about two hours west of London.
“My dear Papa was a very special person who I think above all else would have been amazed by the reaction and the touching things that have been said about him, and from that point of view we are, my family, deeply grateful for all that,” he said.
The Prince of Wales pays tribute to The Duke of Edinburgh on behalf of The Royal Family. pic.twitter.com/tDP0rkKGzc
— The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall (@ClarenceHouse) April 10, 2021
“It will sustain us in this particular loss and at this particularly sad time.”
Prince Charles also thanked those in the Commonwealth, which includes Australia, for their condolences.
He said that Prince Philip was dedicated to the Commonwealth.
“I particularly wanted to say that my father, for I suppose the last 70 years, has given the most remarkable, devoted service to the Queen, to my family and to the country, but also to the whole of the Commonwealth,” he added.
A royal expert has also revealed what happened in his final visit twith Prince Philip in hospital where they had an emotional bedside conversation.
The Duke advised Prince Charles on caring for the Queen when he was gone.
He also spoke about how Charles should lead the Royal Family through the years ahead, according to royal expert Robert Jobson.
And he also expressed his wish to go home, as he wanted to die in his own bed behind the walls of Windsor Castle, a Palace source revealed.
At the time, Prince Charles appeared to be showing the strain of a tough week for the royals when he visited his ill father in hospital.
WILLIAM AND HARRY IN SHOW OF SOLIDARITY
The news comes as Buckingham Palace confirmed that Prince Harry would fly home for the funeral but Meghan Markle has been advised not to fly over due to her pregnancy.
Prince Harry will walk alongside his brother Prince William at their grandfather’s funeral in a show of solidarity for Prince Philip.
The brothers’ strained relationship will be set aside for the day to honour the Duke of Edinburgh.
They will join their father Prince Charles, 72, in a procession behind the coffin of Prince Philip, who will be transported in a specially modified Land Rover.
FUNERAL DETAILS ANNOUNCED
Meanwhile, Prince Philip’s funeral will be broadcast around the globe next Saturday, with Prince Charles leading a procession to the chapel at Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace revealed on Saturday (local time).
Prince Harry will attend the 3pm local time funeral (12am AEST) – which will start with a minute’s silence throughout Britain in the moments before the service at St George’s Chapel begins, reports The Sun.
And, in line with the duke’s wishes, he will be laid to rest in a ceremonial – rather than state – funeral.
There will be no public procession as a result of the COVID restrictions, and the entire service will take place in the grounds of Windsor Castle. Prince Philip’s body is currently resting in Windsor’s private chapel.
All of those attending the funeral – apart from the Queen – will be in the private procession to the chapel.
The coffin will be moved to the state entrance of the castle next Saturday by a bearer party from the Grenadier Guards – the elite Queen’s Company regiment at Windsor, of which Philip was Colonel for 42 years.
The coffin, draped with his personal standard, and decorated with a wreath of flowers and his Naval cap and sword, will then be taken to the chapel by a specially-modified Land Rover.
Touchingly – and perhaps not unexpectedly – the Duke himself had a hand in designing the vehicle that will carry him to the chapel.
The unusual hearse will be flanked by pallbearers drawn from the Duke’s special relationships, including the Royal Marines.
And the funeral service will begin as the coffin is brought in. Just 30 people will be allowed to attend under the COVID laws.
Only members of the Royal Family, plus the Duke’s own private secretary, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the Dean of Windsor and the pallbearers, will be permitted to enter along with the coffin.
Meanwhile, the Queen has approved Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s recommendation that there be a period of national mourning, which began yesterday and will continue until April 17.
The Royal Family will observe two weeks of mourning.
A palace spokesman said the royal family hoped the coming days would be seen as a chance to celebrate the duke’s “remarkable life”.
“While this is naturally a time of sadness and mourning for the Royal Family and the many others who knew or admired the Duke of Edinburgh, it is hoped that the coming days will also be seen as an opportunity to celebrate a remarkable life – remarkable both in terms of his vast contribution and lasting legacy,” the spokesman said.
And while the funeral will be necessarily smaller than hoped for, the official said: “We are certain that the occasion will be no less fitting a farewell to His Royal Highness, marking his significant duty and service to the nation and the Commonwealth.”
Details on the days to come, as well as the Duke’s funeral arrangements, were revealed after the Queen on Friday confirmed with “deep sorrow” the death of her “beloved husband”.
Prince Philip died at Windsor Castle at the age of 99 after saying he was “not looking forward to being 100”.
He spent his final days enjoying the sunshine – and, true to form, insisting on taking care of himself rather than relying on aides.
He refused to wear his hearing aid and reportedly chastised staff who put a wheelchair in his private rooms.
FINAL MOMENTS
It’s understood Prince Philip fell gravely ill on Thursday night (local time). But any discussions about taking him back to hospital were reportedly dismissed by the Queen.
And in his final moments, the Queen was by her husband’s side as he passed away peacefully at their private apartments at Windsor Castle.
After 73 years of being the Queen’s steadfast supporter, this time the tables were turned.
The Queen has now begun an official eight-day mourning period, as the Commonwealth acknowledges one of the world’s great statesmen.
It comes as Prince William cancelled a speech at this weekend’s BAFTAs in the wake of his grandfather’s death.
The Queen’s tearful daughter-in-law, Sophie, has also revealed the family’s heartbreak over the loss of Prince Philip.
In a rare statement, the Countess of Wessex, stopped and spoke to reporters as she was leaving Windsor Castle.
Prince Edward, her husband and the Queen’s youngest son was driving.
Sophie was asked how the family was coping, and she responded simply: “The Queen has been amazing.”
PRINCE WILLIAM CANCELS SPEECH
Prince William was due to appear virtually at a ceremony this weekend to deliver a speech about the resilience of the film industry during the coronavirus pandemic.
But the Duke of Cambridge has pulled out of the event as he mourns his grandfather.
It came as a 41-gun salute rang out across sites in the UK, including in the shadows of the iconic Tower Bridge in central London.
There were also salutes in Cardiff, Wales, Gibraltar, Edinburgh and Royal Navy Ships, who fired 41 shots over 41 minutes.
The Royal Family also shared more photos of the Queen with her beloved husband on the second day after his death.
In the photograph captions she refers to him as “my strength” as her “devoted consort”.
“He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know.â€
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 10, 2021
-Her Majesty The Queen, 1997. pic.twitter.com/wbSldSavNA
At The Queen’s Coronation in 1953, The Duke of Edinburgh swore to be Her Majesty’s ‘liege man of life and limb.’
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 10, 2021
The Duke was a devoted consort (companion to the Sovereign) for almost 70 years, from Her Majesty’s Accession in 1952 until his death: https://t.co/GCMvYfu4SDpic.twitter.com/smGpiIMbDe
Operation Forth Bridge, the code name for Prince Philip’s funeral plans, was put into action following his death on Friday, but final details are yet to be announced.
A low-key funeral of as few as 30 mourners was expected to be held on Saturday, April 17, at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.
Prince Philip’s body was unlikely to be laid in state, where the public traditionally view his coffin, because of Britain’s coronavirus restrictions.
Gun salutes, including those at Woolwich Barracks that were fired on his wedding to Elizabeth in 1947, were due to ring out across Britain overnight.
HOW DEATH WILL RESHAPE ROYAL FAMILY
Prince Philip’s passing will reshape the Royal Family and may fast track plans for Prince Charles to take on more duties.
But there was no chance of an abdication, with the Queen determined to do her duty despite the gaping hole left by the loss of her husband.
Royal insiders have revealed that there was always a plan for Prince Charles to take a wider role.
It was expected that the death of her husband, at least in the short term, would reduce the number of the Queen’s public engagements.
Her Majesty has not travelled overseas since a 2015 trip to Malta, with some contingency plans already in place.
However, the Queen, 94, did attend her first event of the year on March 31 to celebrate the centenary of the Royal Australian Air Force.
And the maskless Queen, who has had her COVID-19 jabs, said she was “delighted” to be out in public again following a year in a protective bubble.
Prince Charles, 72, has been having a greater say in family affairs, and when restrictions ease in Britain there may be a review of his role.
CHILDREN VISITED DUKE IN FINAL DAYS
The Queen was said to be reviewing funeral arrangements before an official sign off.
However, a UK government website broadcast that there would be eight days of mourning, giving a timeline for the funeral, which was later deleted.
There may be as few as 30 mourners at the funeral under the UK’s coronavirus restrictions, which would have suited Prince Philip’s wishes for a “no-fuss” farewell.
Prince Charles was the duke’s only visitor at King Edward VII’s Hospital in London in February.
But all of his children saw Prince Philip in recent weeks.
Prince Charles travelled there to be with the Queen following his father’s death, and Prince Andrew, 61, and Prince Edward, 57, were also said to have visited again on Friday local time.
Prince Charles praised his father’s achievements but added that he “didn’t suffer fools gladly” in a documentary that aired in Britain following his death.
“So perhaps it made one choose your words carefully,” he told the BBC.
“He was very good at showing you how to do things and would instruct you in various things.”
PHILIP ‘NEVER TRIED TO OVERSHADOW QUEEN’
Prince Charles added that his father’s work ethic was unparalleled.
“His energy was astonishing in supporting my mama, and doing it in such a long time,” he said.
“What he’s done, amounts to an astonishing achievement, I think.”
Princess Anne, 70, also paid tribute to her father in the prerecorded documentary.
“I will best remember him as always being there and a person you could bounce off ideas, but if you were having problems you could always go to him and know that he would listen and try to help,” she said.
Prince Edward described his father, who had some infamous gaffes, as a tactful diplomat.
“It was always a challenging role to take but he has done it with the most extraordinary flare and an extraordinary tact and diplomacy,” he said.
“He has never ever tried to overshadow the Queen in any shape or form and I think he has always been there as that rock in the Queen’s life, and certainly within his family that was exactly the same.”
Prince Andrew, in a rare public statement since he was stripped of royal duties, spoke of his childhood.
“Like any family of the day your parents went out to work during the day, but in the evening just the same as any other family we would get together, we would sit on the sofa as a group and he would read to us,” he said.
The duke undertook 637 overseas tours, mainly with the Queen, and carried out 22,219 solo engagements during his seven decades as royal consort – the longest in British history.
Police had asked mourners to avoid laying flowers at Windsor Castle or Buckingham Palace because of coronavirus restrictions, but a steady stream of visitors paid their respects.
There were no flowers in the local shops in Windsor for sale about three hours after his death, while an online condolences book was also launched in an effort to give people an alternative outlet for their grief.
Sanjeevani Seneviratne, of Stanwell, England, visited Windsor Castle.
“I love Prince Philip, I was really sad when I heard, he had a remarkable life,” she said.
Billboards across the UK, including at London’s Piccadilly Circus, dropped their advertisements, with images of Prince Philip beamed out instead.
Radio stations changed their playlists, with a subdued selection of ballads on pop stations, while radio news bulletins carried only the story of Prince Philip’s death on Friday.
Television presenters were on the verge of tears as they announced Prince Philip’s passing, with regular programming shelved for tribute packages to him.
Prince Philip had spent most of his final years at Wood Farm, on the Queen’s Sandringham estate, north of London.
He followed the rules and moved to Windsor Castle where he isolated with the Queen because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The duke was determined to go out with his boots on, refusing to return to hospital after he was finally released after 28 days on March 16.
“He just wanted to be back in his own bed. There is no way he would have wanted to die in hospital,” a source told the UK Telegraph.
stephen.drill@news.co.uk
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