When it comes to the brothers, the solemn event is being seen by some as a missed opportunity to show unity within the family in the wake of their grandfather s death while others went on to wonder if the princes were being kept apart deliberately at their own behest. This is a funeral [and] we will not be drawn into those perceptions of drama. The arrangements have been agreed and reflect Her Majesty s wishes, a Buckingham Palace spokesman told the Daily Mail.
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry arrive at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial on April 9, 2017, in Vimy, France (Getty Images)
autoevolution 16 Apr 2021, 5:09 UTC ·
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His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the longest-serving British male royal, died on April 9, 2021, at 99. His body will be laid to rest in a private ceremony at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, on April 17. 4 photos
Last weekend, Buckingham Palace confirmed reports that the Duke’s body would not be transported across the Castle grounds, to the chapel, in a horse-drawn gun carriage, as is tradition with the Royal Family. Instead, the Palace said, he will make the final journey on a Land Rover he had helped design.
Initial reports claimed that the Land Rover in question was the Defender 130 Gun Bus commissioned in 2005. The Duke received a similar conversion in 2016 for private use on one of us his estates, so clearly, the vehicle was one he was fond of. Be that as it may, it’s not the one that will be used in the procession.
This is the first time Prince Harry has come face-to-face with the royal family since his and Meghan Markle’s tell-all Oprah interview earlier this year, where they confirmed a rift with several of the Mountbatten-Windsors.
Prince Harry’s departure from the royal family has also meant the loss of his military titles, meaning there was a risk that the Duke would be the only senior royal present at Prince Philip’s funeral not wearing military uniform.
It has been reported however that the Queen directly stepped in to avoid embarrassment for anyone, deciding that all royals should wear mourning suits instead.
“I think the letter itself shows the character of Prince Philip that so much of the public in the U.K. and across the Commonwealth, and really across the world, have come to admire,” said Jim Byron, executive vice president of the Nixon Foundation. He said the letter was discovered before the coronavirus pandemic but made public this week, as a way of marking Philip s death.
“It expresses some private feelings of a moment in time that the public really doesn’t always get a chance to see,” Byron added.
Known for his quick wit and willingness to be self-deprecating, Philip s brand of cheekiness didn t always go over well, and sometimes veered into racism. In 1995, he asked a Scottish driving instructor, “How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to pass the test?” Seven years later in Australia, when visiting Aboriginal people with the queen, he asked: “Do you still throw spears at each other?”
“Our thoughts are with Her Majesty The Queen, and the wider Royal family at this difficult time. The Duke of Edinburgh has visited our towns on a number of occasions over the past 70 years. Many local people who are still resident in our area will have attended these historic events and will treasure their own recollections of those days. In 1966, the Duke of Edinburgh accompanied The Queen when they visited Bournemouth Gardens, Christchurch town centre and the Christchurch Priory. Mayor of Christchurch, Cllr Lesley Dedman said: “As Mayor of Christchurch I send the condolences of our Town to the Queen and all the Royal Family upon the death of His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh.