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Prince Philip's funeral live updates: Queen's touching final goodbye to Philip, William and Harry reunite

One candid photo captured at Prince Philip's funeral may show the Queen doing something she's rarely seen doing in public. 

Emma Reynolds, Bianca Mastroianni and Bella Fowler
less than 2 min read
April 18, 2021 - 11:03AM
Prince Philip farewelled in sombre funeral service

William and Harry came together at Prince Philip's funeral as the royal family gathered to pay their final respects to the Duke of Edinburgh in Windsor.

The brothers did not walk shoulder to shoulder in the procession behind the coffin, but were separated by cousin Peter Phillips as they walked in a line with other senior royals behind their grandfather’s coffin. They sat on opposite sides of the chapel for the service, but stood side-by-side afterwards and walked together with Kate, who wore a necklace in a touching tribute to Diana.

All mourners dressed in black morning coats or day dress, a decision made by the Queen to avoid awkward scenes with Prince Andrew and Prince Harry also unable to wear military uniform. 

Pregnant Meghan, watching at home from California on a special live feed, left a handwritten note in tribute. The monarch cut a lonely figure as she sat alone at St George’s Chapel by a Land Rover designed to his specifications, after the Duke decided how his funeral would be held.

Our live blog of the funeral is now closed, but you can still read all the updates below:

Updates

Debate over candid Queen photo

Prominent royal correspondent Charlie Proctor tweeted this photo of the Queen inside her car arriving at the funeral, which he claimed showed her as she "wipes away a tear as she says goodbye to her husband of 73 years."

A simple, very understandable moment of humanity – but one that would be very rare from the Queen, who has never been known for public displays of emotion. Debate raged on social media from royal watchers who suggested it was unlikely the Queen would cry in public, even at her husband's funeral.

"Crying is not in her nature," wrote one person, while others suggested the moment captured was in fact the Queen readjusting her face mask.

"She will wipe many a tear away in the coming days… not in public but in private," wrote another person.

Queen carried Philip close during funeral

The Queen carried one of Prince Philip's trademark handkerchiefs and a photo of them together in Malta in her handbag during his funeral, according to a royal insider.

The Sun reports both items held particular sentimental value for the Queen, as she reflected on her 73-year marriage to Philip.

The couple were frequent visitors to Malta, having lived there for two years from 1949 and regarding it as one of their happiest periods as a young couple.

Truth about Harry and William's 'reunion'

While the images of Princes Harry and William together at the funeral were heartening to see amid their lengthy feud, news.com.au's royal commentator Daniela Elser writes that we shouldn't interpret them as meaning the royal war is over. Rather, she says both Princes knew what was expected of them.


"What we have seen overnight was the very bare minimum required to ensure that coverage of Philip’s send off was not spectacularly overtaken by a frenzied flurry of royal rift stories, all 144-point font headlines and screeching exclamation marks," she writes today.

"As live TV cameras captured every blink and twitch, William and Harry had no choice but to perform."

Elser warns that "the William and Harry storm has far from passed and still poses a considerable and ominous threat to the palace and attempts to patch up the bruised royal brand after years of crises and controversy.

Queen's 'private final' note to Philip

The Queen left a handwritten note on Prince Philip's coffin during his funeral, The Sun reports.

Philip's coffin was draped in the Duke of Edinburgh's 12ft personal standard and adorned by a wreath of white, spring flowers selected by the Queen.

Also resting on top was a handwritten card reading "in loving memory" and the duke's Admiral of the Fleet naval cap and sword.

The signature on the card was tucked out of sight in the flowers, obscuring whether it read Elizabeth or Lillibet – the duke's nickname for the Queen. People, however, reported that the signature read, 'Lilibet'.

The Queen was given the name by her father, King George VI, because she couldn’t pronounce her own – and Philip, along with other close family members, have kept it ever since.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the personal detail, saying it was "private".

–The Sun

UK rallies behind mourning Queen

A look at the front pages of some of the biggest newspapers in the UK show that one photo has emerged as the defining image of Prince Philip's funeral:

It's hard not to be moved by the photo of the Queen, masked up and sat separated from her family members due to strict coronavirus restrictions, quietly mourning her husband of the last 73 years.

"YOU'RE NOT ALONE, MA'AM," The Daily Express captioned the photo on their front page. The Sunday Mirror called it "the loneliest goodbye," and broadcaster Piers Morgan called the image "devastating."

Prince Philip, the young sailor

Never before seen photographs of the Duke of Edinburgh as a teenage sailor during his school days have just been released.

The black and white images, taken in 1937, show a movie star-handsome Prince Philip at the helm helm of Diligent, one of the sailboats belonging to Gordonstoun, the boarding school in Scotland where he was educated.

The photos surfaced after the great-nephew of the former student who took them made contact with the school following the Duke’s passing. The school posted the images to their Facebook page in the hours before Prince Philip's funeral overnight.

–Page Six

Encouraging signs from Harry and William

Those wanting a proper royal reconciliation between brothers Harry and William will be heartened by some of the images from the funeral, which show the pair appearing to put on a united front.

Here they are exiting St. George's Chapel together, side-by-side:

Earlier, Princess Anne's son walked between the princes as senior royals including Prince Charles, Prince Edward and the Princess Royal — the only woman in the group — processed behind the casket carried on a Land Rover designed to the late Duke's specifications.

Meghan leaves note for Philip as she grieves from afar

Meghan Markle left a sweet handwritten note for Prince Philip as a way of being part of the occasion as she watched from afar on a special live feed.

Buckingham Palace said the pregnant Duchess of Sussex was advised not to travel to the funeral on her doctor's advice, although it was said the decision was intended to not take attention away from the Duke.

Instead, she left a card for Philip in a wreath from her and husband Harry, which included the flowers of Prince Philip’s birthplace, Greece, and sea holly in honour of the Royal Marines.

Picture: Clodagh Kilcoyne / Pool / AFP

Meghan's friend Omid Scobie said the 39-year-old was grieving because "she has also lost a family member", as he led the US coverage of Prince Philip's funeral for the ABC.

The author of Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family, reporting on the proceedings from London, said the 39-year-old's mind was "very much on the situation here".

"She grew very close to the Queen and Prince Philip over the recent years. It was probably her strongest relationship within the family and those relations then get smaller this week," he said. "It’ll be a sad day for her."

Harry, 36, and Meghan had been zooming with Philip frequently over the past year since moving to California with son Archie.

Gayle King, a friend of Meghan and Oprah, led the coverage for CBS, which aired the bombshell royal interview.

“William and Harry, there’s no secret about this, have had a strained relationship, you could say, since Harry stepped away from his royal duties,” she told viewers after running through the line-up of the funeral procession.

She said that "family differences will be set aside for the day", because "at the end of the day, this is a family that's grieving".

Read more here

Queen cuts tragic figure as Charles sheds tear

The Queen looked a heartbreaking figure as she was forced to sit alone in St George's Chapel away from her family because of COVID social distancing rules.

The monarch, who turns 95 in just days, followed the funeral procession in a Bentley with her lady-in-waiting before taking her seat in the quire (choir area) of the chapel.

Picture: Leon Neal / AFP

The Queen bowed her head as the Dean of Windsor paid tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh's "humour and humanity", before she watched as her husband's coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault — the first time such a moment had been televised.

Many were touched by what actor Omid Djalili called an "enduring image" of the lonely monarch, with journalist Victoria Murphy saying it was an "incredibly moving image". Piers Morgan said it summed up the "cruel separation and loneliness" wrought by the pandemic.

"Has there ever been a more heart-breaking picture of The Queen?" he asked.

Picture: Danny Lawson – WPA Pool/Getty Images

She chose Prince Andrew to sit closest to her, despite the Duke of York's recent demands he should attend the funeral as an Admiral after the promotion was put on hold because of his links to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

The Queen refused the request and instead banned all attendees from wearing uniform, which also saved Harry's blushes, but the seating arrangement adding to speculation that Andrew is her "favourite".

Meanwhile, her firstborn son Prince Charles was seen shedding a tear as he said goodbye to his beloved father, who died on April 9 aged 99 at Windsor Castle.

Philip's children and grandchildren including Princess Eugenie and Beatrice and their husbands were among the guests, along with his close friend the Countess of Mountbatten, who looked heartbroken as she said her farewell to her former carriage driving partner.

Read more here

Brothers Harry and William reconcile as Kate takes charge

As a historic day draws to close, let's recap some of the key moments from Prince Philip's pared-back but suitably grand funeral.

Brothers Prince Harry and William shared a sweet moment of reconciliation as they chatted privately following the service at Windsor Castle.

The pair got off to an awkward start, as the Queen had ordered they should be separated by their cousin, Peter Phillips, in the royal procession behind the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin.

Picture: BBC

Princess Anne's son walked between the princes as senior royals including Prince Charles, Prince Edward and the Princess Royal — the only woman in the group — processed behind the casket carried on a Land Rover designed to the late Duke's specifications.

William sat with Kate opposite Harry in St George's Chapel during the service, but as the 30 guests left after Philip's coffin was interred, the brothers finally stood side-by-side as they thanked the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Picture: BBC

The Duchess of Cambridge was seen chatting to her brother-in-law as the trio walked away from the chapel, with Kate acting as mediator between the brothers.

She then tactfully stepped away to walk with Prince Edward's wife Sophie Wessex, allowing Harry and William to engage in conversation as they were reunited for the first time in over a year.

Harry had been in quarantine until the morning of the funeral and the brothers have made no secret of their relationship problems following the 36-year-old's decision to step back as a working royal, move to California with Meghan and give a tell-all Oprah interview.

Kate made a touching tribute to Princess Diana and the Queen as she wore a pearl and diamond necklace that was previously lent to her late mother-in-law. The Duchess, dressed in black with a net veil, behaved like the Queen she will one day be as she played a vital role in the first step to healing the rift between William and Harry.

Read more here

Read related topics:Kate MiddletonLive Daily NewsMeghan MarklePrince AndrewPrince Harry
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