The British royal family will say goodbye to Prince Philip, Elizabeth II’s husband, next Saturday at a private funeral at Windsor Castle, in the presence of Prince Harry, but without his wife, Meghan, Buckingham Palace announced on Saturday.
Funeral services will be held at 15:00 (14:00 GMT) in St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, about 40 miles west of London, where the Duke of Edinburgh, a staunch supporter of the sovereign for seven decades, died. “peaceful” Friday morning, at 99 years old.
Only thirty people, including their four children (Carlos, Ana, Andrés and Eduardo), grandchildren and other relatives, will be able to attend the funeral, thanks to the rules imposed to address the coronavirus pandemic.
Prince Henry, who lives in California after leaving the monarchy last year, will attend the ceremony. However, his wife, Meghan, who is pregnant, will not do so and will remain in the United States, following the advice of her doctor, according to a palace spokesman.
To allow “as many family members as possible to attend the funeral,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not attend, his office said.
At the beginning of the ceremony, a minute of silence will be observed throughout the country.
The funeral will take place four days before the queen’s birthday, which will turn 95 on April 21.
His eldest son, Prince Charles, said on Saturday that he and the royal family missed Prince Philip “enormously”, whom he called “a very special person”.
Carlos praised “his outstanding service to the queen, my family and the country” and said his father “would have been amazed by the reaction and the moving things that were said about him”.
national mourning
In the country, which has begun a national mourning that will last until the day after the funeral, tributes have already begun.
From the Tower of London, on the banks of the Thames, the castles of Edinburgh, Belfast, Gibraltar or the ships of the Royal Navy, where he served during World War II, the roar of cannons resounded at noon (1100 GMT).
This rescue, the first in a series of 41 (one per minute), paid homage to the patriarch of the British royal family, born in Corfu as prince of Greece and Denmark and who had a childhood wandering throughout Europe.
Princes Andrew and Edward visited their mother Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle on Saturday. “The queen was fantastic,” the Countess of Wessex, Sofia, Prince Edward’s wife, told reporters as they left the castle.
Prince Charles had visited her on Friday.
Known for expressing his mind, Prince Philip drew attention to his provocative comments, sometimes colored with racism or sexism.
But the British also remember his tireless devotion to the monarchy, which he helped modernize and humanize, and his presence, in the background, but infallible, alongside the sovereign.
“It was stability, but also fun, a sense of humor, which I sometimes seem to have lost,” Heather Bridge, 65, told the AFP near the Tower of London.
The accusations of Enrique and Meghan
Prince Philip has participated in more than 22,000 official public engagements since his wife ascended the throne in 1952.
Now, the monarch will have to deal alone with the crisis that shakes the British royal family, following recent criticism from her nephew Enrique and his wife Meghan against “The Firm”, the monarchy’s nickname, accused of racism and lack of support.
The latter said in an interview with American presenter Oprah Winfrey in early March that she even had suicidal thoughts.
The couple mentioned the racist behavior of a member of the royal family who wondered what color the skin of the child they were expecting would be, specifying – outside the room – that she was neither the queen nor her husband.
Enrique, 36, also said he was “really disappointed” by the lack of support from his father, Prince Charles, who temporarily stopped answering the phone and revealed that he had become estranged from his brother. his, Guillermo. He, in turn, assured that the royal family is not “at all racist”.
On Saturday, the royal family’s Twitter account shared several photos of the queen with her husband at significant moments in their lives.
Just like in 1997, on the occasion of the 50th wedding anniversary, when the one he nicknamed “Lilibeth” confessed: “He has simply been my strength and support all these years.”