At Prince Philip's funeral, William and Harry will walk apart
With the official announcement of the details of the funeral, it was announced that the brothers will not parade shoulder to shoulder as they did at their mother's funeral.
Prince Philip's funeral on Saturday in Windsor will see the entire British royal family in civilian clothes, the coffin carried by a military Land Rover and brothers William and Harry walking apart by another royal.
Enrique, 36, who shook the monarchy a year ago when with his wife Meghan decided to abandon his royal duties and go to live in California, will not walk after his grandfather's coffin with his older brother, William, 38 years old. and second in the order of succession to the throne.
Between the two brothers, about whose tense relations the British press has written at length, will be their cousin Peter Phillips, the royal house explained on Thursday when announcing the details of the ceremony.
This will be Harry's first public appearance with royalty since he and Meghan gave an explosive television interview in which they accused an unidentified member of the family of racism.
Now the Duke of Sussex comes to say goodbye to his grandfather. Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, passed away last Friday with two months to go before his 100th birthday.
Following his will, he will be buried on Saturday in the vicinity of Windsor Castle, about 50 km west of London, and due to the covid-19 pandemic, only 30 people will attend the funeral, mostly close relatives.
Queen Elizabeth II, about to turn 95, and all guests, will wear masks and maintain safety distances, confirmed Buckingham Palace.
Among those present, in addition to their children, will be Camilla, wife of the heir to the throne, Charles of Wales, all the duke's grandchildren and their spouses, the children of the queen's sister, the late Princess Margaret and three German relatives of Philip. Also invited is a close friend of the Duke, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, who shared with him a passion for driving racing carriages.
Prince Philip had requested a simple ceremony, to be held in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.
The duke, who served as a naval officer in World War II and had close ties with the Armed Forces, wanted a ceremony markedly military in style. However, Buckingham Palace also specified that all British royal men will wear their military medals in civilian clothes.
According to the press, this was the express decision of Queen Elizabeth II. Otherwise, the funeral would have emphasized the loss of honorary military titles for Harry, sixth in line and former captain of the British Army, following his resounding departure from the monarchy in 2020.
The coffin will not be carried in a hearse, but in an army green Land Rover designed according to Felipe's instructions, who provided it with an open rear section to carry the coffin, and even designed the metal pins that should prevent it from moving. The late husband of the monarch, with whom he was married for 73 years, was all his life fond of these vehicles, engineering and design.
Due to the coronavirus, the British were asked not to go to Windsor. This is why the funeral will be broadcast on television.
The British public broadcaster BBC, which on the day of Felipe's death and part of the following one interrupted all its programs to offer intense coverage of the event, claimed on Thursday to have received almost 110,000 complaints, a number never seen before, calling it excessive and criticizing that viewers were left without options.
