Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, will attend the funeral of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, without his wife, Meghan Markle.
A spokesperson for the British Royal Family said that Markle, who is pregnant with the couple’s second child, was not given permission from her physician to travel from the couple’s home in California to the United Kingdom for the funeral, which will be held on April 17.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped down from their royal roles last year and have not stepped foot on British soil in the intervening time. The couple gave a tell-all interview to Oprah Winfrey in March, in which the duchess revealed that she had contemplated suicide, and the couple accused an unnamed member of the royal family of racism. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex later clarified that it was neither Queen Elizabeth II nor Philip who asked how “dark” their son would be.
Royal expert Katie Nicholl said that “efforts were made to protect [Philip] from the full force of the fallout” of the interview, which was broadcast in the middle of his monthlong hospital stay.
PRINCE PHILIP, HUSBAND OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II, DIES AT 99
Philip died Friday at the age of 99, two months before his 100th birthday. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, his four children, eight grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.
Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark was born in Corfu, Greece, in 1921. His family fled the country in 1922 after his uncle, King Constantine I of Greece, was forced to abdicate and his father was sent into exile. Philip attended the Gordonstoun School in Scotland and, at the request of his former headmaster, founded the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
Reflecting on her father’s life, Anne, Princess Royal, said that his father’s absence and his mother’s commitment to an asylum played a key role in the impact that Gordonstoun School made on his life.
“The father figure was very intermittent then went, and his mother struggled at that stage, so he had friends elsewhere who took him in the holidays,” she told ITV on Friday. “He was virtually a refugee at that stage because he had nowhere else to go. Literally … and that is probably why Gordonstoun had such an impact.”
Philip married then-Princess Elizabeth in 1947 despite apprehension from palace officials about the relationship. In a 1997 speech, the queen praised her husband for his decades of service to Britain and to the royal family.
“He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim or we shall ever know,” she said.
Philip retired from public service in 2017 after completing more than 22,000 royal engagements.
Charles, the Prince of Wales, paid tribute to his late father, saying his “dear papa” had given “given the most remarkable, devoted service to the Queen, to my family and to the country, but also to the whole of the Commonwealth.” Charles added that Philip “would have been amazed by the reaction and the touching things that have been said about him.”
Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, who is married to the queen’s youngest son, Prince Edward, said after a visit to Windsor Castle on Saturday that the queen has “been amazing.”
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The funeral will take place after eight days of national mourning in the United Kingdom. The occasion will be a royal ceremonial funeral, in line with Philip’s wishes. The original plans for the funeral once included arrangements for an anticipated 800 guests, but palace officials have had to make adjustments in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Funerals in England are currently limited to 30 guests.
Philip will make his final journey from the private chapel at Windsor Castle to St. George’s Chapel in a custom Land Rover that he himself helped design. His coffin will be draped in his personal standard, and his naval cap and sword will be laid on the coffin in commemoration of his service in the British Navy.
