Prince Philip funeral: The Queen bids poignant farewell to her ‘strength and stay’
The Royal Family bid farewell to Prince Philip in a unique funeral service made all the more poignant by the sight of the grieving Queen forced to sit on her own.
The Queen and her family have bid farewell to Prince Philip in a unique and very poignant funeral service where less was indeed more.
Prince Philip, who died on April 9 aged 99, wanted a send off without frippery: and the hymns, a service order without eulogies or sermons, the LandRover hearse he had asked for and the pared down military parade, were all the more powerful for their simplicity.
But there was great pathos in this service, in which, thanks to Covid social distancing rules, the grieving Queen had to sit alone at the front of the chapel, with other family members sitting apart from each other.
The Queen, head bowed and appearing uncharacteristically shaken, fiddled with her Order of Service, hiding her eyes below her hat and white edged black face mask.
It was a heartbreaking moment seeing Queen Elizabeth sitting solo, saying goodbye to her husband of 73 years, her “strength and stay”.
It was she who, in the aftermath of the Twin Towers terror attack, reminded grieving relatives of the victims that “grief is the price we pay for love.” Her bleak appearance illustrated how sadly she was now paying her own price for her unerring love for her husband.
Charles, now the most senior male royal, blinked rapidly as the coffin, draped in Philip’s standard, his hat and gloves, and a bouquet of lilies and roses chosen by the Queen, was manoeuvred into position in the Quire inside St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
Just minutes earlier, all that could be heard was the beat of a drum, and a gun fired by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery once a minute from the East Lawn of Windsor Castle, as the senior Royals walked solemnly in procession behind Philip’s coffin.
Australia’s defence force representative, Commodore Guy Holthouse was in the quadrangle, not far from Philip’s two favourite horses and his carriage that he used to take carriage driving in the Windsor Estate, an activity he enjoyed up until last year.
Wearing morning dress and medals, Charles and his sister Princess Anne led the procession behind the hearse, followed by Prince Edward and Prince Andrew. Philip’s elder grandson Peter Phillips was positioned strategically between brothers Prince William and Prince Harry, with the Earl of Snowden and Anne’s husband, Vice-Admiral Tim Lawrence at the rear. This was the first time Harry has been in the presence of his family since the bombshell US television interview where he and his wife Meghan accused the Royal family of racism and prejudice.
The Queen was in the back of her Bentley, accompanied by a lady in waiting in the procession before entering the church to the sounds of God Save the Queen. She was dressed in a black dress and was wearing one of her largest brooches, the Richmond brooch, given to her by Queen Mary.
The rest of the 30 guests lined up outside the church until the cortege arrived, with Sophie, the Countess of Sussex, keeping her arms around her two children, Lady Louise and James, Viscount Severn.
The nation observed a minute’s silence as Philip’s coffin was paused halfway up the stairs into the chapel.
The choice of songs, selected by Philip over 18 years ago when he began his funeral arrangements, were personally significant. Because of coronavirus restrictions, the congregation was not allowed to sing, and the choir comprised of just four singers.
One of the hymns, Eternal Father, is known as the hymn of the Royal Navy, which Philip joined at age 17 and in which he served with honour during WWII. The Rhosymedre by Ralph Vaughan Williams has been played at a number of royal weddings including those of William and Kate and Harry and Meghan, and at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales.
The Jubilate in C was written by Benjamin Britten at the request of Philip 50 years ago, while Psalm 104 was set to music by guitarist and composer William Lovelady, also at Philip’s request, and first sung in honour of his 75th birthday in 1996.
The most poignant and moving part of the ceremony was a lament from the Royal Marines, The Last Post by the State Trumpeters of the Housheold Cavalry, the Reveille by the buglers of the Royal Marines and then the very special Philip moment, the call Action Stations as Philip’s coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault.
The Dean of Windsor commended the Duke:
“Go forth upon thy journey from this world, O Christian soul, in the name of God the Father Almighty who created thee, in the name of Jesus Christ who suffered for thee, in the name of the Holy Spirit who strengtheneth thee, may thy portion this day be in peace, and thy dwelling in the heavenly Jerusalem.”
As the congregation walked back up Chapel Hill and past the Round Tower to the state rooms of Windsor Castle, Harry and William, as well as Kate, chatted to each other, while Charles, appearing very emotional, pocketed a handkerchief.
Australian Defence Force Commodore Guy Holthouse said the “enormity, importance and solemnity’’ of Prince Philip’s funeral, held just metres away, resonated strongly with him.
Commodore Holthouse was one of four Commonwealth military representatives who were specially invited to attend the ceremonial aspects of Philip’s funeral, standing in the Horseshoe Cloister near the foot of the stairs leading into St George’s Chapel.
Philip had been an enthusiastic supporter of the Australian military: his first job was as an 18 year old midshipman in the Royal Navy on HMS Ramillies which escorted Australian and New Zealand troop convoys to Suez for four months in 1940 during WWII.
Commodore Holthouse said of Saturday’s sad occasion: “It was a military funeral for a military officer executive by the military. He had kept his relationship with the military for his entire life and that was in evidence today’’.
He said the military had practised their performance on Thursday, but the funeral on Saturday was emotional.
“On the day the enormity, the importance and the solemnity, resonated, shall we say, with me,’’ he said.
Commodore Holthouse and the other military personnel saluted snappily upon the arrival of the Queen and when the coffin entered the church.
During the funeral, Commodore Holthouse was taken to the undercroft of the chapel to watch the service on television.
“It was the Duke’s wishes that the military be involved and that there be representatives from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Trinidad and Tobago,’’ said Commodore Holthouse.
Australia’s representation at the funeral would have been significantly increased, with the Governor General and other senior government officials invited, if the original plans for Philip’s funeral had been carried out.
But because of coronavirus rules limiting the funeral to 30 people, the military send off was held outside in the quadrangle of Windsor Castle where personnel from the units Philip was most closely associated with stood in formation. They included the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Band of the Royal Marines, The Queen’s Royal Hussars, Grenadier Guards, The Highlanders, 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, Royal Gurkha Rifles, The Rifles, Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Intellience Corps, Foot Guards Band, Guidon, Colour and Truncheon Parties, Cadet Forces and the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League.
How the funeral unfolded
Anne Barrowclough12.55am:William, Harry leave service together
Amid the sadness, some hope - at least for the relationship between William and Harry. As the Royal Family left the chapel, Harry walked between William and Kate, and they could be seen chatting as they walked. At one point Kate dropped back and the brothers continued together.
Anne Barrowclough12.50am:Last Post, Action Stations signal end of funeral
The Royal Family is filing out of the chapel. The funeral ended after The Last Post was sounded by the Buglers of the Royal Marines, followed by the State Trumpeters of the Household Cavalry sounding the Reveille.
After the Last Post, the Buglers of the Royal Marines sounded Action Stations - a signal that all hands should be ready for battle.
It is an apt finale, with Prince Philip’s family - especially Prince William - reminding the public that the Duke of Edinburgh would “want us to get on with the job”.
Anne Barrowclough12.45am:Duke’s coffin lowered into Royal Vault
The Dean of Windsor commended the Duke, as his coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault.
“Go forth upon thy journey from this world, O Christian soul, in the name of God the Father Almighty who created thee, in the name of Jesus Christ who suffered for thee, in the name of the Holy Spirit who strengtheneth thee, may thy portion this day be in peace, and thy dwelling in the heavenly Jerusalem.”
The Garter Principal King of Arms, who is the principal adviser to the sovereign on matters of ceremony and heraldry, earlier read out the Duke of Edinburgh’s titles in full.
The list runs from Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich to Admiral of the Fleet, Field Marshal in the Army and Marshal of the Royal Air Force.
He ended the list with the duke’s most famous role, husband to the Queen, “whom may God preserve and bless with long life, health and honour and all worldly happiness”.
Anne Barrowclough12.40am:Dean of Windsor offers praise for Philip’s life
The Queen is seated at the front of the quire, nearest to the altar. Directly opposite her is the Prince of Wales alongside the Duchess of Cornwall.
Closest to the Queen, two seats to her left, is the Duke of York.
The Dean of Windsor has offered praise to God for the life of Prince Philip, who he says left us “a fair pattern of valiant and true knighthood”.
“Grant unto him the assurance of thine ancient promise that thou wilt ever be with those who go down to the sea in ships and occupy their business in great waters,” the dean prays.
Anne Barrowclough12.35am:Prayers, hymns personalised for Philip
The choir sings Psalm 104, which was set to music by William Lovelady, a contemporary composer, who wrote the setting at the request of the duke.
It was previously sung at Prince Philip’s 75th birthday.
“My soul give praise unto the Lord of heaven,” the choir sings. “In majesty and honour clothed; The earth he made will not be moved, the seas he made to be its robe.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury then read a prayer which he personalised for Prince Philip, adding thanks for “his resolute faith and loyalty, for his high sense of duty and integrity, for his life of service to the nation and Commonwealth, and for the courage and inspiration of his leadership”.
“To him, with all the faithful departed, grant thy peace,” the archbishop says.
Anne Barrowclough 12.25am:Choir sings hymn Philip had asked composer to write
Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, reads the Second Lesson, from the Gospel of John, detailing a conversation between Martha and Jesus:
“Jesus said to her: ‘I am the Resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, He who is coming into the world.’
Before the reading the choir sang The Jubilate, by Benjamin Britten. The hymn was originally written by the English composer for the St George’s Chapel choir at the request of the Duke of Edinburgh himself.
Anne Barrowclough12.18am:Family spaced in chapel, Queen sits alone
The Royal Family are adhering to social distancing rules sitting apart from each other. The Queen is sitting on her own. William and Harry are sitting opposite each other in St George’s Chapel, with William joined by members of his family while Harry is seated alone.
As they took their seats, the choir sang Eternal Father, Strong to Save.
Better known as “For Those in Peril on the Sea” after the last line, the hymn is considered especially poignant by military sailors and recalls Prince Philip’s own naval service.
Eternal Father, Strong To Save was also sung in 1979 at the funeral of Earl Mountbatten of Burma, who had assumed a father role in Prince Philip’s life, and who was responsible for his first meeting with then Prince Elizabeth.
Anne Barrowclough12.05am:Philip’s funeral service begins
The service has begun after Prince Philip’s coffin was carried into the chapel following the National Minute’s Silence.
Members of the Royal Family who walked in the Procession assumed their places in the Quire as the choir sang.
The Dean of Windsor began the service, telling family members: “We are here today in St. George’s Chapel to commit into the hands of God the soul of His servant Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
“With grateful hearts we remember the many ways in which his long life has been a blessing to us. We have been inspired to his long loyalty, by his service to the nation and the Commonwealth, by his courage, fortitude and faith.
“Our lives have been enriched through the challenge that he set us, the encouragement that he has given us, his kindness, humour and humanity.
“We therefore pray that God will give us grace to follow his example and that, with our brother Philip, at the last, we shall know the joys of life eternal.”
Anne Barrowclough 11.55pm: Queen enters St George’s Chapel
The National Anthem played as the Queen entered St George’s Chapel. The Duke’s coffin is being removed from the Landrover by the bearer party.
The Royal Family is now observing a one minute silence for Prince Philip.
Anne Barrowclough 11.50pm: Royal Family begins procession to St George’s Chapel
The procession to St George’s Chapel has begun. Prince Charles and Princess Anne are leading the procession, followed by Princes Andrew and Edward. Princes William and Harry come next, separated by Peter Philips.
All the males are in morning dress rather than military uniform, as ordered by the Queen.
The roses and lilies on top of the coffin were selected by the Queen, while the cap and the sword had been given to the Duke by his father.
Anne Barrowclough11.45pm: The Queen appears as Philip’s coffin emerges
The Queen has appeared from the Castle in her bentley, after the coffin carrying the Duke of Edinburgh emerged from the State Entrance of the Castle, and the Bearer Party are placing it on to the Land Rover.
Members of the Royal family walking in the procession will soon depart the State Entrance following the coffin and take up their positions.
Anne Barrowclough11.30pm:Members of the Royal Family arrive
Members of the Royal family have began to arrive at St George’s Chapel ahead of the funeral.
There will be no eulogy or sermon, and no members of the Royal Family will give readings.
Philipp, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, a great-nephew of the Duke through his grandmother Princess Margarita – who was Prince Philip’s eldest sister - has arrived, as have Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi
Penny Brabourne, Countess Mountbatten of Burma has also been pictured arriving at Windsor for Prince Philip’s funeral.
Zara Philips and Mike Tindall have also arrived.
Jacquelin Magnay11.25pm:Adored cousin Peter to separate feuding brothers
The warring princes, William and Harry, will be separated by their cousin Peter Phillips in the funeral procession for their grandfather Prince Philip on Saturday.
In a plan approved by the Queen, the congregation is also to wear morning coats and dresses, with medals — and not military dress — after Harry would have been the only senior male royal without a military uniform under protocols following his departure from the Royal Family.
Another wayward royal, Prince Andrew — who made his first statement in 18 months earlier this week paying tribute to his father in a bid to re-establish some sort of public acceptance following revelations of his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — also desired wearing an Admiral’s uniform to the service. However the Queen’s decision to present a united family front avoided such problems, as Andrew had deferred being made an Admiral on his 60th birthday while the Epstein probe was still ongoing.
The funeral procession distancing of William, the second in line to the throne from Harry, who has left the Royal Family for independent life in California, harks to their ongoing feud that began around the time Harry proposed to his now wife, Meghan Markle. Their sibling relationship plummeted further following a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey last month in which an unhappy Harry and Meghan complained of racism, prejudice and lack of support from within the royal family.
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Valentine Low10.55pm:Service will recall Philip’s life, naval service
As the Duke of Edinburgh is laid to rest in the Royal Vault beneath St George’s Chapel, Windsor, he leaves a reminder of the man he was: Philip the outsider. Shortly before the coffin is lowered into the vault, joining the ranks of royals both famous and long forgotten, the choir will sing an anthem Give Rest, O Christ, To Thy Servant.
It is more than words of religious reassurance, set to beautiful music: it speaks of Philip’s foreign ancestry. It is the Russian Kontakion of the Departed, a funeral hymn in the Russian and Greek Orthodox churches, set to a melody from Kiev.
For Philip — born into the Greek Orthodox Church — it would have evoked memories of his mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, who is buried in a Russian Orthodox convent in Jerusalem, and of her aunt Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918 and later made a Russian Orthodox saint.
Memories run through the service; of the sea, of music he loved, of his uncle Lord Mountbatten of Burma.
The Queen wishes to share this private photograph taken with The Duke of Edinburgh at the top of the Coyles of Muick, Scotland in 2003.
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 16, 2021
📷Photograph by The Countess of Wessex. pic.twitter.com/CE030Ux0UB
The first hymn, Eternal Father, Strong to Save, is the sailors’ hymn, a memory not only of Philip’s days as an officer in the Royal Navy but also of Mountbatten. A former First Sea Lord, he was murdered by the IRA in 1979, and the hymn was sung at his funeral.
There is talk of the sea in the prayers, in the psalm sung by the choir, and in the lesson from Ecclesiasticus read by the Dean of Windsor, the Right Rev David Conner, which talks of its “strange and wonderful creatures, all kinds of living things and huge sea-monsters”.
There will be memories, too, of Philip’s best-loved words and music. Psalm 104 was one of his favourites, and has been set to music by William Lovelady that was first sung as a cantata for Philip’s 75th birthday. Friends and family will recognise Benjamin Britten’s setting of the Jubilate, commissioned by Philip in 1961 for St George’s Chapel and performed at services for his 80th and 90th birthdays
The Times
Jacquelin Magnay10.45am:Charles set to take centre stage
It is but a quirk of timing that Prince Philip died the month his wife of 73 years, the Queen, celebrates her 95th birthday.
For not that many years ago a loose plan was firmed up by Buckingham Palace courtiers that the Queen could step back from overseas travel and significantly reduce her royal workload so by the time she reached 95 — a date that arrives in less than a week — many of the monarchal functions could be handled by her eldest son and heir, Prince Charles.
As Philip is laid to rest overnight Saturday in a ceremonial funeral that has been pared down because of the pandemic, but that still nods to his military career and decades long service to the crown, there is a distinct sense of a new Charlemagne era.
And despite a last-minute brouhaha over the dress code, all eyes are turned, not to the fissure between princes Harry and William but to how 72-year-old Charles will cope.
As the longest serving heir apparent, Charles has had plenty of time to think about being king, and his style can be seen in his embrace of conservation and organic farming, and encouragement of youth and entrepreneurial spirit through the Prince of Wales Trust.
He has overcome, through the passing of time and an increasing public acceptance of his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, the disaster of his first marriage to Princess Diana.
His supporters point to Charles’s reimagining of the Duchy of Cornwall, which provides his income, to show how modern farming practices can be environmentally sustainable, and his big thinking even produced an architecturally designed town, Poundbury, on land in Dorset, that has been deemed a huge success.
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Anne Barrowclough10.30pm:March of grief that could heal the hurt
The haunting image from Princess Diana’s funeral of those two young brothers — 12-year-old Harry and William, aged 15, walking behind their mother’s coffin, heads down, staring at the ground — will be in most of our thoughts this weekend as we watch the princes reprise that sorrowful march.
This time, of course, it will be Prince Philip’s coffin they follow, but the role he played in supporting them nearly 24 years ago as they absorbed the shock of their mother’s death will be replayed in both those young men’s minds.
They will remember in particular how their grandpa’s “gruff tenderness” gave them the courage to make that public walk of grief after they resisted the suggestion that they join the 1.6km procession to Westminster Abbey.
Princess Anne recently revealed that at supper the night before Diana’s funeral, Prince Philip turned to his grandsons, saying: “If I walk, will you walk with me?” The boys agreed.
William insisted that he would only join the procession if his grandpa walked beside him.
On Sunday morning (Australian time), as they accompany their grandfather to St George’s Chapel, the princes will, as they did then, suppress their grief in public even as they are engulfed by such memories. But of the two, it may well be Harry, the prodigal, who is hit the hardest. Harry will be feeling wretched; he adored his grandpa and is well aware how badly he hurt both Philip and the Queen with his and Meghan’s tell-all Oprah interview.
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Valentine Low10.15pm: Queen had to cut mourners from 800 to 30
From one of his closest friends who often kept him company in his final years to the German family to whom he was devoted, the list of mourners at the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral sums up the select group of people who were most important in his life.
Buckingham Palace said the Queen had faced “some very difficult” decisions as she selected the 30 guests permitted inside St George’s Chapel, Windsor, under COVID-19 rules, from the original congregation of 800, and had tried to represent all branches of the duke’s family.
Earlier today, further details of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Funeral were released, including more information about the Procession and which members of the Royal Family will be attending.
Among the mourners is Countess Mountbatten of Burma, 67, previously known as Lady Romsey and later Lady Brabourne, who was Philip’s carriage-driving partner and one of his closest friends. The wife of Earl Mountbatten, Norton Knatchbull, who is the grandson of Philip’s uncle the 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, who was murdered by the IRA in 1979, she was a frequent guest of Philip’s at Wood Farm in Sandringham after his retirement. Philip began teaching her carriage driving in 1994 and they remained firm friends.
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