Summary
Buckingham Palace has announced that the Queen will attend today’s memorial ceremony at Westminster Abbey for the Duke of Edinburgh.
Buckingham Palace has announced that the Queen will attend today’s memorial ceremony at Westminster Abbey for the Duke of Edinburgh.
The 95-year-old monarch has been battling mobility concerns and has not attended a public event this year other than those held at her homes.
She opted out of the Commonwealth Day service earlier this month, citing concerns about her comfort on the travel from Windsor to London.
She has since recovered from Covid and was in fine form at Windsor last week. According to the Palace, the Queen was closely involved in the service’s planning, with several features reflecting her intentions.
What time is today’s memorial ceremony for Prince Philip?
The memorial ceremony at Westminster Abbey will begin at 11.30 a.m. on Tuesday 29 March.
It will be broadcast live on BBC One from 10.30am to 12.15pm, with Huw Edwards presenting the coverage. You can watch an online feed of the event on BBC iPlayer here.
Who will be in attendance at Prince Philip’s memorial service?
Along with the Queen, several prominent members of the Royal Family will attend, including the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Around thirty foreign royals are expected to attend, including Monaco’s Prince Albert, Denmark’s Queen Margrethe, Norway’s King Harald and Queen Sonja, and Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia.
All of these individuals would have been on Philip’s pre-pandemic guest list.
There will also be members of the duke’s extended family and friends in attendance, as well as 500 representatives from his patronages and charities.
Sir David Attenborough, Dame Floella Benjamin, Baroness Grey-Thompson, and military personnel who assisted with the funeral, notably Pipe Major Color Sergeant Peter Grant and the Grenadier Guards Bearer Party, are also invited.
The Duke of York will attend the service, despite the fact that Prince Andrew settled a civil sexual assault complaint for millions of dollars earlier this month.
He will be accompanied by his daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, as well as their spouses, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Jack Brooksbank, respectively.
Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister who officially apologised to the Queen and the country for gatherings in Downing Street on the day of the duke’s burial, will be at the abbey with his wife Carrie.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, on the other hand, will not return from the United States for the service.
When was Prince Philip assassinated?
Prince Philip died on 9 April 2021, which means his first anniversary is approaching.
His funeral took place on 17 April at St George’s Chapel and was limited to just 30 persons owing to Covid restrictions. Collective singing was prohibited, and the Queen was compelled to sit alone in a mask.
When he died, the duke was just weeks away from celebrating his 100th birthday – but he would not have done so with much fanfare, as he was always believed to enjoy low-key gatherings.
He opted not to receive the state burial to which he was entitled as the Queen’s husband for the same reason.
Philip was laid to rest at Frogmore Gardens on the same day as his funeral, with a private service attended by the Queen and senior members of the Royal Family.
What can you anticipate from the monument to Prince Philip?
The moving memorial ceremony is scheduled to include some things Philip intended for his own burial but were unable to incorporate owing to Covid-19 constraints.
As visitors gather for today’s ceremony, young Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award holders and members of junior UK Cadet Force organisations line the stairs of Westminster Abbey.
The duke’s explicit intentions for the congregation to join in and sing the stirring hymn “Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer,” as well as for clergy from Windsor, Sandringham, and Balmoral to play a specific role, will also be fulfilled.
The Sub-Dean of the Chapels Royal will offer prayers for the duke’s “character gifts; for his humour and resilience; and for his fortitude and dedication to duty.”
Prince Philip’s “vigour and adventurous spirit” and “strength and steadfastness” will also be lauded at the ceremony by the clergy of the royal estates – dubbed the Queen’s domestic chaplains.