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Saturday 17 April 2021

Coronavirus entry 46: Goodbye Prince Philip

Today we watched The Queen say a final farewell to her beloved husband, Prince Philip, as his funeral was aired on television around the world. 

The ceremonial funeral took place at St George's Chapel, in the grounds of Windsor Castle, at 15:00pm, and with current lockdown rules, only 30 people were allowed to attend. We saw The Queen and various members of her family attend, along with 3 members of Prince Philip's German family. 

Where this would have usually been a state funeral, Prince Philip had previously requested a smaller, low key ceremony, which The Queen honoured. There were still wonderful tributes and flowers that had come in though, both on social media, and laid at Buckingham palace. 

Live television coverage began as early as 7am, with other channels and radio stations offering programmes and discussions about the life of the Prince, prior to the funeral starting. 

The military honoured Prince Philip with a 41 gun salute every minute at 1pm, both on land and at sea, at major Cities across the UK, as well as the naval base in Gibraltar, as a mark of respect. 

At 2.15pm the Household Cavalry and Foot Guards lined up at the Quadrangle in Windsor Castle along with military representatives that had special connections with Prince Philip and at 2.40pm the coffin was carried out and place on a Land Rover where Princes Charles, Andrew, Edward and Princess Anne, Princes William and Harry walked behind. Princess Anne's son Peter Phillips, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence and the Earl of Snowdon were also part of the procession, with members of the duke's staff followed behind. The Queen travelled on her own in a state Bentley at the rear of the procession. 

Seeing The Queen alone has without a doubt touched the hearts of everyone. There was a moment as she walked into the Chapel where she stopped and turned around, with many people believing it was her natural reaction to waiting for her husband to join her. We then saw her sitting alone on one of the benches at the front of St George's Chapel, which was absolutely heartbreaking. (This was due to Covid rules).

Prince Philip was lowered into the Royal Vault in the grounds of the Chapel at the end of the ceremony, however out of respect to The Queen and her family, only the start of this was televised. 

It is thought he will lay there until The Queen passes, and will then be moved to lay alongside her at King George VI memorial chapel where her parents' The Queen Mother, King George VI and The Queen's sister, Princess Margaret have all been laid to rest. 

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