Prince Philip funeral: Coffin carried into St George's Chapel

When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they’ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time.

The Royal Family gathered to say their final farewell to the Duke of Edinburgh at a funeral service at Windsor Castle on Saturday. His final journey was on the back of a modified Land Rover that he helped design rather than a traditional gun carriage. Senior royals walked behind the hearse, including Prince Charles and his sons Princes William and Harry, along with Philip’s other children, Princess Anne and Princes Edward and Andrew.

Philip’s famous sense of humour also played a part in his funeral as the idea behind the hearse started out as a joke.

The Duke reportedly once told the Queen that if he died, she should “stick me in the back of a Land Rover and drive me to Windsor”.

Philip is believed to have chosen to modify a Defender 130 Gun Bus land rover as he had a passion for them and had driven the vehicles for decades.

The vehicle was kept in a compound near to the Jaguar Land Rover HQ in Coventry for years after it was finished.

Steve Routly, the chief engineer who worked on the vehicle, said few people knew what the vehicle was going to be used for while it was being modified.

He told the Mirror: “The Duke’s Land Rover had been in there for a decade, being regularly serviced and looked after for when it might be needed.”

In a further nod to the Duke of Edinburgh’s green credentials, the modified Land Rover Defender 130 Gun Bus he had a hand in designing was a hybrid.

Philip started his involvement in the Land Rover in 2003, which was the year he turned 82, and finished it when he was aged 98 in 2019.

A senior Buckingham Palace official said: “The Duke of Edinburgh had a hand many years ago in the design of these vehicles.”

He visited Jaguar Land Rover’s manufacturing facilities many times over the years and even went along with the Queen when she opened Jaguar Land Rover’s new Engine Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton in 2014.

The Land Rover’s original role in the funeral would have been to transport the Duke 22 miles from Wellington Arch in central London to Windsor.

But the Covid pandemic prevented plans for military parades in honour of Philip through the streets of both London and the Berkshire town.

DON’T MISS
Kate joins forces with Sophie and Anne to support the Queen [REVEALED]
Funeral not about you! Harry’s ‘shameful uniform tantrum’ blasted. [INSIGHT]
Prince Harry to ‘leave in next 24 hours’ as he skips Queen’s birthday [VIDEO]

The Palace website added last week: “His Royal Highness’s coffin will be carried in a purpose-built Land Rover – which The Duke was involved in the design of – flanked by military Pall Bearers, in a small Ceremonial Procession from the State Entrance to St George’s Chapel, for the Funeral Service.”

Meanwhile, the Queen is set to celebrate the first birthday of her reign without her husband as she turns 95 on Wednesday.

This would have also been a special week with a number royal celebratory occasions as Prince Louis also turns three on Friday and his parents the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary on the 29th.

The Queen is currently staying at Windsor with around 20 staff members, also known as HMS Bubble.

Last year, she decided not to celebrate her birthday in a special way during the first Covid lockdown and instead spoke with family members through private video calls.

She spent her 94th birthday with Philip but stayed away from other members of the family as they followed social distancing rules amid the pandemic.

Her official birthday is usually celebrated in June and marked by the annual Trooping the Colour parade, but that will not go ahead for a second year due to the pandemic.

In a statement, Buckingham Palace said options for a parade in the quadrangle at Windsor Castle are being considered instead.

Source: Read Full Article