As Prince Philip was laid to rest at St George’s Chapel in Windsor on April 17, 2021, the commentators stressed that he had personally chosen every detail of his farewell.
‘Throw my coffin in the back of a Land Rover,’ the Duke of Edinburgh had said, according to biographer Robert Lacey in his book Battle Of Brothers. So that is what the Royal Family did.
The Land Rover Defender, which the Duke had painted a military green and modified to include an open-top rear with special fittings to secure his coffin, was followed by his four children: Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.
His grandsons William, then Duke of Cambridge, and Harry, Duke of Sussex, also formed part of the procession.
It was the first time they had reunited since Harry and Meghan’s bombshell interview with US chat show host Oprah Winfrey earlier that year.
Strategically, Peter Phillips was placed in between the feuding brothers to act as a ‘diplomatic buffer’, wrote Lacey.
Ever modest, Philip had also insisted that he wanted no personal address or tributes during the service, so it was kept to his handpicked selections of readings and music.
It was difficult not to tear up at the sound of the buglers of the Royal Marines trumpeting out The Last Post to signify ‘a soldier has gone to his final rest’ and the mourners praying for ‘those in peril on the sea’, pointing to Philip’s time in the Royal Navy.
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Senior members of the Royal Family walk behind the specially designed Land Rover in the funeral procession towards St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle
Specially modified Land Rover will transport Prince Philip’s coffin
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Prince William (left) and Prince Harry (right) walk either side of Peter Phillips and behind Prince Andrew at Windsor
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The duke wanted the call to echo around the vast 15th-century St George’s Chapel at his funeral.
A Palace spokesman said: ‘It is a fitting testimony to remind many people who might not realise that the duke saw active service in the Second World War aboard a ship in the Royal Navy.’
But although the service was almost exactly as he would have wanted it, it was rendered all the more moving by the pandemic restrictions in place.
The congregation all wore black face masks that conveniently not only helped stop the spread of the disease but also kept emotions private.
But it was Queen Elizabeth, whom Philip was married to for 73 years, that broke hearts across the nation.
In a picture that served somewhat as an allegory of the times, the frail monarch sat six feet away from family members and faced her grief alone.
Only 29 other mourners – including Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry – were allowed inside St George’s Chapel as social distancing rules were still in place.
Immediately after Prince Philip’s funeral, his eldest son Charles exited the church and stripped his face mask away. He had clearly been crying.
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The then Duke of Cambridge, the Duke of Sussex and Peter Phillips walk up the West Steps outside St George’s Chapel
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Prince William and Prince Harry follow the hearse towards the chapel
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The then Duchess and Duke of Cambridge during the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral
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Prince Harry sits alone in the pews at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle
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Philip’s coffin had on it his standard, navy cap and a sword given to him by the Queen’s father when they had married 73 years before
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Queen Elizabeth sits alone at the funeral of her husband in April 2021 due to coronavirus restrictions
Prince Philip: Last Post bugler ‘honoured’ to play at duke’s funeral
As members of the Royal Family joined him in removing their masks, a horde of lip-readers came into their element. It was the first time Harry had mingled with relatives in-person since the revelatory Oprah interview.
‘Yes, it was great, wasn’t it?’ remarked William to Harry, as if they had not been ‘estranged’ for several months.
‘It was as he wanted,’ Harry apparently replied.
Royal fans noted what seemed to be a touching reunion between the brothers – with many noting how Catherine, then Duchess of Cambridge, expertly manoeuvred herself to allow the pair to talk alone.
Speaking about the brothers’ conversation, body language expert Judi James told MailOnline: ‘The moment of connection between William and Harry came right at the end of the service as they left the chapel.
‘In a well-co-ordinated but also relatively natural-looking moment, Harry walked up behind William and Kate to then join them, walking between them and chatting to them both.
‘After a few seconds of what looked like natural and not self-conscious conversation, Kate fell back, leaving the two brothers walking off talking alone. It looked like a genuine moment of unity rather than something contrived for the cameras.’
Although their interaction looked perfectly friendly, Lacey reported that William could see no point in talking to Harry beyond pleasantries ‘since any discussion of substance would go straight back to Meghan to be leaked out via Oprah, Gayle King or some other tentacle of the Sussex network’.
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Prince Harry and Prince William talk to each other as they leave the funeral service at St George’s Chapel
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Prince Harry and Prince William leave the funeral as the Duchess of Cambridge walks alongside them
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The Duke of Sussex is seen speaking to the Duke of Cambridge following the service
Immediately after the funeral, Queen Elizabeth returned to her apartment in Windsor Castle in silence.
‘I helped her off with her coat and hat and no words were spoken,’ senior dresser Angela Kelly told royal expert Gyles Brandreth.
‘The Queen then walked to her sitting room, closed the door behind her, and she was alone with her thoughts.’
Though her grief was private, in public the Queen was determined to carry on as normal. ‘Life goes on,’ she said. ‘It has to.’
