Here’s what will happen today at Prince Philip’s funeral

A few hours before her husband’s funeral, Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth had the photo she considers most touching of their 73-year long relationship distributed. In the image, the Duke of Edinburgh is lying on the grass in the hills of Coyles of Muick, in the countryside of Ballater, a few kilometers from Balmoral. The Queen is at her side, sitting and smiling, with a blanket covering her legs. It is an image of absolute serenity, a moment of family quiet, taken by the Countess of Wessex Sophie, the wife of Edoardo, the youngest son of the Sovereign and the Duke, who over time became one of Elizabeth’s closest friends.

A few hours after the funeral, the Queen wanted to gather alone next to her husband’s coffin, perhaps to be able to shed a few tears without anyone seeing her. On Friday afternoon she took a long walk alone with two of her corgis, and was seen driving her Jaguar inside the castle at the age of 95. In these days Elizabeth has had to make decisions that she did not like: in order not to humiliate her nephew Harry, deprived of any military rank after fleeing to America with Meghan, she ordered that no one wear military uniform at the funeral, a violation of customs particularly painful towards Filippo, proud of his commitment in the Navy during the Second World War.

The Duke’s medals, his sword, admiral’s felucca, his banner and insignia were placed above the coffin. The males of the Royal Family will instead bring only their medals, pinned on the “morning suit” with which they will attend the funeral. Buckingham Palace has published the service order of the ceremony, which describes what will happen minute by minute. The prince’s coffin will be carried at 2:41 pm (3:41 pm in Italy) by soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the Grenadier Guards through the State Entrance of Windsor Castle and will be placed on the Land Rover modified to designs by the Duke himself for his funeral. .

The rest of the ceremony will also respect the directions of Philip, who did not want a pompous funeral, nor speeches commemorating it. The number of participants has been reduced to 30 in compliance with the anti-Covid rules that Elisabetta absolutely does not want to violate. He also waited his turn for the vaccine. The Land Rover journey to St George’s Chapel in Windsor will be covered in eight minutes and the coffin will be followed on foot by nine family members, including Princes William and Harry, who will be kept apart from cousin Peter Phillips, son of the Princess Anna. The two brothers have not made peace, have not spoken and probably will not meet after the funeral for a clarification. Harry and Meghan’s statements in the Oprah Winfrey interview have not been forgiven.

At the entrance of Filippo’s coffin into the chapel, the town will stop for a minute of silence and the celebration will begin accompanied by a choir of only four people and the performance of music by Bach, Harris, Williams, Whitlock and Vierne, chosen by the same Duke. Due to Covid rules, Elizabeth will sit alone in her pew. The other 29 participants in the ceremony will wear the mask like her and will be forced to distance themselves between families. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will remember Philip “for his steadfast faith, for his high sense of duty and integrity, for his life of service to the Nation and the Commonwealth and for the courage and inspiration of his leadership “.

When finished, the national anthem will be performed, God Save The Queen. Elizabeth will leave the chapel first, accompanied by her closest family and the Archbishop of Canterbury. She will need a lot of help now that her “rock” is gone, and she is more and more tired and lonely.