Prince Harry and William’s very different tributes to Prince Philip as plan to help Queen revealed
More details have emerged of how the Royal Family will shift to help the Queen after Prince Philip’s death and funeral.
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The Queen will be flanked by senior royals when she continues her future public engagements after Prince Philip’s death.
Prince Charles, Camilla, Prince William and Kate Middleton will accompany her once the two weeks of official mourning ends on April 22, The Sun reports.
Prince Edward and Princess Anne will also join the monarch as she gets back to work.
According to the Daily Mail, a source said: “The Duke of Edinburgh is irreplaceable and the Queen’s dedication to duty is undiminished.
“But senior officials and members of the family have long had an eye on ensuring she is more supported in the future and it seems sensible to start employing this now.”
Another said: “If one parent dies the children – and in this case, grandchildren – all step up and fill in in different ways.
“No single individual could ever take place of the Duke of Edinburgh, but just maybe all of them coming together will fill some of the space he has left behind.”
A third source claimed: “The long-term planning has long been that she should have a member of the Royal Family with her as well whenever possible or appropriate. It’s a question now of bringing that forward slightly.
“If you look back at the pandemic, much of the work of the Royal Family has already been led by Prince Charles, Camilla, Prince William and Catherine.
“It is very practical way of supporting the Queen. Her Majesty really values that and doesn’t take it for granted. That will continue.
“But we will see senior family members take up more investitures and some of the more physically burdensome duties the Queen has, as well as going out and about with her when she leaves a royal residence.”
The Queen is set to return to work after Philip’s funeral and will oversee the state opening of Parliament next month.
WILLIAM AND HARRY’S STARKLY DIFFERENT TRIBUTES
Prince William said he will “miss my Grandpa” in his first statement following Prince Philip’s death.
“My grandfather’s century of life was defined by service – to his country and Commonwealth, to his wife and Queen, and to our family,” Prince William said.
“I feel lucky to have not just had his example to guide me, but his enduring presence well into my own adult life – both through good times and the hardest days. I will always be grateful that my wife had so many years to get to know my grandfather and for the kindness he showed her. I will never take for granted the special memories my children will always have of their great-grandpa coming to collect them in his carriage and seeing for themselves his infectious sense of adventure as well as his mischievous sense of humour!
“My grandfather was an extraordinary man and part of an extraordinary generation. Catherine and I will continue to do what he would have wanted and will support The Queen in the years ahead. I will miss my Grandpa, but I know he would want us to get on with the job.”
Prince Harry, who was said to be staying at Frogmore Cottage inside the grounds of Windsor Castle, has added to his tribute to his grandfather.
“My grandfather was a man of service, honour and great humour. 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,” Prince Harry said on his Archewell charity website.
“He will be remembered as the longest reigning consort to the Monarch, a decorated serviceman, a Prince and a Duke. But to me, like many of you who have lost a loved one or grandparent over the pain of this past year, he was my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right ‘til the end.
“He has been a rock for Her Majesty The Queen with unparalleled devotion, by her side for 73 years of marriage, and while I could go on, I know that right now he would say to all of us, beer in hand, ‘Oh do get on with it!’
“So, on that note, Grandpa, thank you for your service, your dedication to Granny, and for always being yourself. You will be sorely missed, but always remembered-by the nation and the world. Meghan, Archie, and I (as well as your future great-granddaughter) will always hold a special place for you in our hearts.
“‘Per Mare, Per Terram,”’ Harry’s tribute ended, quoting the motto of the Royal Marines — By Sea, By Land.
QUEEN TO DECIDE ON HARRY’S TITLE
Prince Harry gave up his title as His Royal Highness after Megxit, although he is still sixth in line to the throne and remains a prince.
Now the Queen must decide whether her grandson can use his HRH title in the order of service for Prince Philip’s funeral.
Harry could technically be referred to simply as the ‘Duke of Sussex’ for the service, The Sun reports.
If ‘HRH’ isn’t used alongside Harry’s name on the order of service, it would mark a distinction between him and other immediate family including brother William and father Charles.
PRINCE PHILIP’S FINAL NOD TO AUSTRALIA
Preparations are continuing for the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, to be held on Saturday at 3pm local time (midnight AEST).
An Australian representative will stand in front of St George’s Chapel for Prince Philip’s funeral as part of a final homage to Australia.
Commodore Guy Holthouse, Australia’s Defence Advisor in the UK, will be positioned in front of the chapel when the Duke of Edinburgh is laid to rest at Windsor Castle.
Mr Holthouse met the Queen on March 31 at an event marking the 100th anniversary of the Royal Australian Air Force. It was Her Majesty’s first royal engagement this year.
PHILIP’S FINAL MOMENTS REVEALED
Prince Philip’s passing was “so gentle”, his daughter-in-law, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, said following a church service at the Royal Chapel of All Saints in the grounds of Windsor Great Park.
“It was just like somebody took him by the hand and off he went,” she said.
The Queen attended a private mass in Windsor Castle as she started to come to terms with the loss of her husband of 73 years.
She described his death as leaving a “huge void” in her life, according to Prince Andrew.
The Queen’s family has rallied around Her Majesty since the duke’s passing last week, with regular visits from Sophie, 56, wife of her youngest son Prince Edward, 57, and Prince Andrew, 61, who all live nearby.
PRINCE HARRY BACK IN LONDON
Prince Harry is bunkering down in a coronavirus-enforced isolation at Frogmore Cottage,
The 36-year-old slipped into Britain late on Sunday night local time, but was not photographed at London’s Heathrow Airport.
“I saw him getting into an escorted car,” a witness told The Sun.
Prince Harry travelled alone because his wife Meghan, 39, expecting the couple’s second child within months, was too pregnant to fly.
He was greeted with snow in London on his first day back in the UK from sunny California, where he moved after stepping down from royal duties in March last year.
Prince Harry returns with some trepidation following his sit-down interview with new neighbour Oprah Winfrey, in which he claimed Prince Charles stopped taking his calls and that the Royal Family was “racist”.
Prince Philip thought that Prince Harry and Meghan’s interview with Winfrey was “madness” and that “no good would come of it”.
The duke had also told friends that Prince Harry and Meghan’s American move was “not the right thing, either for the country, or for themselves.”
But Prince Philip, who died 62 days before 100th birthday, was philosophical in the end.
“It’s his life. People have got to lead their lives as they think best,” he told friends, according to biographer Gyles Brandreth.
FUNERAL PLANS REVEALED
The ahead-of-his-time eco-Prince — who was among the first to highlight climate change in the 1950s — will be carried in an electric Land Rover, instead of a traditional gun carriage.
There will be a procession from the State Entrance of Windsor Castle to St George’s Chapel.
The duke personally oversaw the arrangements for his funeral, codenamed Operation Forth Bridge, and had ordered a $1600 woollen coffin.
The modest touch was part of the fuss-free prince’s character.
A former White House butler, Lynwood Westray, told an American news outlet of the duke’s refusal to stand on ceremony.
Prince Philip insisted that he poured Mr Westray, an African American butler, a drink when he was alone in the Red Room in the White House in 1979 following a function.
“If you let me pour it, I’ll have one with you,” the duke said, according to Mr Westray.
Undertakers Leverton and Sons, the founding members of the Association of Green Funeral Directors who also organised Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997, were appointed to take care of the duke’s arrangements.
The woollen coffin will be draped in Prince Philip’s personal flag, topped with a floral wreath and his naval cap and sword.
Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry, along with Prince Edward, and Prince Andrew, were expected to follow the coffin in the procession.
The Band of the Grenadier Guards, of which the Duke of Edinburgh was Colonel for 42 years, will lead the procession.
Military guns will be fired by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery from the East Lawn of Windsor Castle each minute during the expected eight-minute funeral march.
The arrangements have been pared back owing to coronavirus restrictions, however the duke had rejected a formal State Funeral that would have been attended by leaders from across the globe.
Only 30 mourners were expected, with the official list to be published on Thursday.
Sophie and Prince Edward’s children Lady Louise Windsor, 17, and James, Viscount Severn, 13, were tipped to attend.
Sophie, a former businesswoman who grew up in Kent, has become close to the Queen.
Prince William and Kate’s children Prince George, 7, Princess Charlotte, 5, and Prince Louis, 2, were not expected to go because of their ages.
Princess Anne said her father’s death, even at 99, was a shock.
“You know it’s going to happen but you are never really ready,” she said.
“My father has been my teacher, my supporter and my critic, but mostly it is his example of a life well lived and service freely given that I most wanted to emulate.
“We will miss him but he leaves a legacy which can inspire us all.”
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