Here is Who Attended Prince Philip's Funeral
Due to the coronavirus, Prince Philip’s funeral on Saturday was a small affair, but all of the key members of the royal family were there, including, of course, Queen Elizabeth II. Leading by example, the mourning widow socially distanced and sat alone in a pew that stretched across the long hall of St. George’s Chapel. It was a striking image of the Queen, who for 77 years had her husband by her side.
Throughout the course of their relationship, the Queen and Prince Philip created a large royal family of their own that included many aunts, uncles, children, and grandchildren. All of Prince Philip’s children attended his funeral. Anne, the Princess Royal, Charles, the Prince of Wales, and their two younger brothers Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex; and Prince Andrew, the Duke of York walked behind the custom-designed Land Rover that carried Prince Philip’s coffin from the State Entrance of Windsor Castle to St. George’s Chapel.
Following them were some of Prince Philip’s grandchildren. Peter Philip, Princess Anne’s son, walked between Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, and his brother Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge.The final line of the procession featured Princess Anne’s husband, Vice admiral Timothy Lawrence, and David Armstrong-Jones, the Earl of Snowdon and son of Princess Margaret, the queen’s deceased sister.
Inside the church, families sat in socially-distanced pods. Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, joined her husband Prince William, while Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, sat next to her grief-stricken husband Prince Charles. The father and son are first and second in line for the throne. Prince Edward’s wife, Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, and their two children, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn also sat together for the service.
Prince Harry’s wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, did not attend the service. According to a royal spokesman, the duchess, who is pregnant with the couple’s second child, was advised by her physician to not travel. In her absence, she sent a handwritten note and a custom-designed wreath to be laid at the service. The wreath included bear's breeches, the national flower of Greece, in honor of Prince Philip’s heritage.
After the service, Prince Harry was seen walking and chatting with his brother Prince William. Some took this as a sign of a thawing of the brothers’ reportedly frigid relationship. Earlier this spring, Prince Harry told Oprah that he and his brother had a falling out over Harry’s choice to step down as a royal.
"The relationship is space at the moment, and, you know, time heals all things, hopefully," Harry commented to Oprah. "I love William to bits. He's my brother. We've been through hell together, and we have a shared experience, but we were on different paths." That may be, but for a brief moment on Saturday, the brothers’ paths reunited in grief, reminding everyone of the uniqueness of their shared history.
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