Windsor, England – Britain was in a period of national mourning on Monday, remembering her life Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Queen Elizabeth II’s husband, over 70, died last week at the age of 99. According to Holly Williams of CBS News, the funeral will take place on Saturday at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.
It will be a small private service, thanks COVID-19 restrictions limiting meetings to 30 people and according to the wishes of the late leader. But, as a former royal correspondent told CBS News, it may still provide an opportunity to help heal a rift between two key members of the younger generation of the royal family and their loved ones. the need to look for some distance.
Prince Harry returned to England on Monday, isolating himself for five days according to the rules of the coronavirus in Great Britain, in order to attend the funeral.
For decades, Philip was considered by some to be the power behind the throne, but longtime BBC historian and correspondent Wesley Kerr told CBS News that a generational change had already taken place within the monarchy.
“Anyway, the queen did a lot less, even pre-COVID,” Kerr said. “All major foreign tournaments are now made by [Princes] Charles and William. This has been going on for some time. “
The younger members of the Windsor House are a more complicated set than the monarch and her late husband, who have been happily married for 73 years.
Prince Andrew paid tribute to his father – the first time he has been heard of since the Jeffrey Epstein scandal ended his public role as a royal – describing his mother as stoic in the face of her loss, which he said he left her “a huge void in her life.”
“I’m very sorry and I support my mother, who I think probably feels better than anyone else,” Andrew said on Sunday.
While the Duchess of Sussex Meghan’s pregnancy will keep her away from the funeral, her husband Prince Harry will be there to honor her grandfather. This weekend’s service will come just weeks after the bombshell interview Meghan and Harry with Oprah Winfrey, during which they made accusations of racism within the royal family.
“I think he will be greeted as a family member very close to his grandmother, his father, his brother and cousins,” Kerr predicted. “I think they’ll be absolutely thrilled to see him.”
“He and his wife left their chests no matter what the beef was,” Kerr said, noting that, according to the queen herself, “memories differ” within the royal family in some of the young people’s claims. kings and some of their claims – quietly married three days before the wedding, for example – were flatly rejected.
Now, Kerr said it might be the right time to try to calm any emotional damage.
“I think that together, especially at the funeral of a great patriarch, I think that will be the key,” he said. “After all, this is Harry’s family. I know Meghan has a family, but indeed this is his family, and so does Meghan, and I think reconciliation will be the theme … reconciliation is always a very important theme , very strong at a funeral. ”
Kerr, who is no stranger to the attention of the British public or the British press, said he did not expect to see a significant reaction against Harry during the interview with Oprah.
“I think there will be comments in the newspapers and then in the comments below, just as there have been for a few weeks,” he said. “He and the duchess chose to give the interview and chose to express their opinions. So, inevitably, there will be comments on this, some favorable, some less so.”
“For me, what is really key is the Queen, Prince Charles, William – this is the future. This is the key future of the institution. But Harry continues to be an important member of the royal family,” Kerr said, suggesting that he and Meghan had become a “North American branch” of the family, which the queen herself calls “Firma.”
While Kerr noticed that the duke and duchess were clear focused on their new independent projects as kings who do not work“He’s definitely another member of the royal family – he’s definitely Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex. He’s definitely the Duchess of Sussex. So I think the point is that there are still a lot of members of the royal family.”
Kerr said that it is possible that Harry and Meghan may return at some point to be more visible members of that family and that he personally would be “delighted” to see this.
He also mentioned that another opportunity was approaching not too far on the horizon to build on any reconciliation coming this week, while the royal family mourns the loss of their patriarch.
“I think he will return on July 1, if it does not coincide with the birth of the child, to reveal the new statue of Diana,” Kerr said, referring to Prince Harry’s expected presence at the official unveiling ceremony. a statue of his late mother this summer.
“So, I think that in a family, there are disputes, but there is also reconciliation.”
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On Monday, from his self-isolation at Frogmore Cottage on the Royal Estate in Windsor, Prince Harry issued a statement praising his late grandfather as “a man of service, honor and great humor,” whom he said was for him. , first and foremost, “grandfather: the master of the grill, the legend of stuttering and naughty to the end.”
“He was genuinely himself, with a serious, sharp spirit, and he could hold the attention of any room because of his charm – and also because you never knew what he might say next,” Harry said, adding. Meghan, Archie and I (as well as your future great-granddaughter) will always have a special place for you in our hearts. “