(Newser)
– Prince Philip was a big fan of Land Rovers – and will be taken to his funeral in one that he helped design. Buckingham Palace says the 99-year-old has been working with Land Rover since 2003 on the modified vehicle, which has an open rear section, designed to its specifications, Reuters reports. The palace says the changes the prince designed include “plugs” to hold the coffin in place, the BBC reports. The prince, who served in the Royal Navy during World War II, also called for a repainting in a darker military green. The last changes were made in 2019. Accordingly Telegraph, once told his wife, Queen Elizabeth II, that he did not want a fanciful funeral and said, “Just stab me in the back of a Land Rover and drive me to Windsor.”
The prince died at Windsor Castle, and the Land Rover funeral vehicle will not make a long journey: it will be used to carry his coffin to the castle grounds at St. George’s Chapel for Saturday’s funeral. Plans for a 22-mile journey from central London have been abandoned due to the pandemic. The number of mourners will be limited to 30. It is not clear who will drive Land Rover, although the Queen would have little difficulty doing so: like Philip, she often drove Land Rovers and learned to drive and repairs numerous military vehicles, including Land Rover’s predecessors, during military service in World War II. (A potentially difficult situation with military funeral uniforms was avoided.)