Prince Philip funeral: Expert on Peter Phillips' 'gesture'

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The Queen’s eldest grandchild said not being able to hug Her Majesty, 95, was one of the hardest parts while trying to cope with the loss of Prince Philip, who died aged 99. At the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral in April, Queen Elizabeth was pictured sitting alone in the pews of St George’s Chapel.

Peter Phillips, 43, spoke to the BBC about the loss of his grandfather and explained what he believes the impact of the picture of the Queen at her husband’s funeral had.

Princess Anne’s son said: “Our thoughts immediately went to my grandmother.

“She’s been able to see the great-grandchildren and so on and so forth, so really just trying to support her through this.

“Everybody saw the image of Her Majesty sitting alone. It would have been the same for any other family, the hardest part is not being able to hug those closest to the person who’s been lost.”

He added: “It’s the same for a lot of families. There has been some great sadness, but at the same time you’ve got to try to take the positives out of these situations, whether that be new life, or happy memories, that’s what you’ve got to focus on.”

“Even though he was 99-years-old”, Phillips continued, “he lived a remarkable life and I think if any of us could even live half the life he lived we would all be extraordinarily happy.

“He was such a fixture of all of our lives and of course it’s sad, of course we miss him, and our thoughts obviously immediately turn to my grandmother and we’ve been trying to support her as much as we can.”

At the time of Philip’s passing, Buckingham Palace said the Queen had faced “difficult decisions” over who to invite to the Covid-secure funeral service.

Princess Royal’s son walked between Prince William and Prince Harry as the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral procession made its way towards St George’s Chapel.

It is believed the 43-year-old was placed between his cousins at the request of the Duke of Cambridge in an attempt to ease tensions between William and the Duke of Sussex.

Phillips refused to be drawn in to make any comment about the existing difficulties between Harry and William.

The Queen’s eldest grandchild also explained how the late Duke of Edinburgh had a major impact on his love for the countryside.

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Mr Phillips said: “He was a hugely influential figure in our lives and everything about the countryside if you like and his passion for everything country, is pretty much where my passions lie.

“He taught us everything about local food production and the importance of the provenance of the food.”

Speaking at the Gatcombe Park Food and Drink Festival at his mother’s home in Gloucestershire, Mr Phillips said: “He would not want us to be moping around feeling sorry for ourselves; he would absolutely be wanting us to carry on and continuing the work he’s been doing, well he did, for all of those years supporting the Queen.

“I pretty much know where he would have been sitting if he were [here]. He would have been in the Stroud Brewery tent and very happily ensconced in there for the afternoon.”

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