Final preparations for the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral have begun ahead of the Queen and her family saying their farewells to Philip.
Tributes were paid to the duke from friends and colleagues in the hours before his interment and the Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage debuted a poem written to mark the death of the Queen’s consort.
A small group of the duke’s close family and friends will attend a televised funeral service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle at 3pm.
Covid regulations have reduced the scope of the service with public elements cancelled, mourners reduced from around 800 to just 30, and all guests wearing face masks and sitting apart.
The Rhosymedre by Ralph Vaughan Williams
The Rhosymedre is a piece with strong royal connotations and was featured at the weddings of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. It was also played at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales.
The song was played before the service, alongside Sebastian Bach s prelude Schmucke Dich, O Liebe Seele BWV 654.
Jerusalem by Hubert Parry and Nimrod by Elgar
A tri-service band, comprising The Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines Commando Training Centre Royal Marines, The Band of the Scots Guards and The Combined Bands of the Royal Air Force, played as the Duke’s Land Rover entered by the George IV gate ahead of the arrival of his coffin.
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Stoic Queen says farewell to Philip
Updated: 17/04/2021, 8:37 pm
The Queen during the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh (Jonathan Brady/PA)
The Queen mourned her husband the Duke of Edinburgh with dignity and stoicism during a funeral service that bore Philip’s touch and celebrated his life and legacy.
After almost 70 years as head of state, the Queen will reign without Philip by her side – a man she met as a young girl and who was the bedrock of her happiness.
In a symbolic moment, the Queen was pictured sat alone in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle as she waited for the funeral procession carrying the duke’s coffin to arrive.