Prince Philip funeral: Dawn breaks over Windsor as Queen prepares to bid farewell to husband

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A golden glow fell over the grounds of Windsor Castle this morning as dawn broke on the day HRH Prince Philip will be laid to rest. 

The eyes of the world will be on the royal residence today as the Queen says her final goodbye to the Duke of Edinburgh, her husband, ‘strength and stay’ of 73 years.

In pre-pandemic times thousands of mourners would have travelled to the Berkshire town to pay their respects, but the Royal Family, the Government and police are asking the public to stay away.

Early this morning members of the armed forces, police, security and the media were taking up positions around the castle ahead of this afternoon’s ceremony.

While much of the typical pageantry has been pared back, Buckingham Palace says it will still reflect Philip’s life of service and the plans he himself spent years fine-tuning. 

Right down to the bespoke Land Rover hearse to carry his own coffin, the event will be executed with Philip’s characteristic military precision, leading up to the 3pm service at St George’s Chapel. 

The first glimpses inside the chapel shows the Duke’s insignia, Field Marshal’s baton, RAF wings and decorations from Denmark and Greece resting on cushions at the altar.

The Queen, 94, will say a private farewell to her husband before his body is driven to the chapel tailed by a small procession including Philip’s four children and three grandsons. 

Sources say she has been the ‘epitome of dignity’ this week, and the Archbishop of Canterbury paid tribute to her ‘extraordinary dignity and courage’.

Justin Welby, who will praise Philip’s ‘life of service to the nation and Commonwealth’ at the service, added that he hoped the nation prayed for her and ‘hope for her to find strength in what must be an anguished moment’. 

It was a crisp Spring day at Windsor this morning, with sunshine forecast for most of the day.  

Signs have been erected around the town urging members of the public to stay away from Windsor and other royal residences. 

Police patrols have been stepped up to enforce Covid rules, which ban large gatherings.  

Marshals have also been drafted in to help and were seen trooping through the town in high-vis jackets. 

As with all royal events, there was tight security and police divers were pictured searching a drain near the grounds, while snipers kept watch on rooftops. 

Reporters were struck by how quiet Windsor was this morning, drawing contrast with past major events such as Harry and Meghan’s 2018 wedding when the streets were filled with royal fans waving flags. 

A police sergeant told MailOnline: ‘It certainly looks like the Royal Family and Prince Phillip have been given the upmost respect.

‘Its 9am and I haven’t talked to one person who has come here to be at the castle today. I think people realise they’re better off at home watching the funeral on television.’

Trains into Windsor from Waterloo and Paddington were empty. A member of the station staff said: ‘Whenever there is a Royal occasion here, you get people sleeping overnight and certainly by 9am every train is packed.

‘Today there hasn’t been a single person who has passed through here to stand outside the castle.’

Local Alicia Evans, 48, who was walking her dog along the iconic Long Walk this morning was one of the few in the area.

She said: ‘If people are staying away then all I can say is good heavens for that.

‘It’s a private funeral with only 30 Royal mourners. This is not one of those occasions where we want to see union flags and bunting.

‘It’s a very sad day and I hope most of the public remember Philip at home in their thoughts and watch the funeral on television.’

A visible armed forces presence was on display, reflecting the Duke’s wishes for a military rather than a state funeral.

Philip served with distinction as a Naval officer in the Second World War and had association with all forces while the Queen’s consort.  

The duke’s coffin, draped in his personal standard and bearing his naval cap, sword and a wreath of flowers, will first be seen at 2.41pm today when it emerges from the State Entrance to Windsor Castle carried by a bearer party from The Queen’s Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards.

It will then be placed on the Land Rover hearse that Philip personally designed for the occasion for the eight-minute journey to the chapel, followed by a procession of nine family members.

Lieutenant Erica Bridge of the Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery said Philip’s affection for the armed forces would weigh heavily on the servicemen and women on duty.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Today progamme: ‘What is absolutely key to today is that the day is very much in line with the Duke of Edinburgh’s wishes. 

‘And that’s a really important thing to those people out there today – knowing that the Duke wanted them to be there and representing those units he had a very close affiliation with.’ 

Admiral Tony Radakin, the First Sea Lord, added: ‘It is (a naval send-off at the Duke’s funeral) but I think it is much bigger than that.

‘I really do think that for all of us in the military, today is about a royal funeral and it is about playing our part in that, but it is for the Royal Air Force, the British Army and the Royal Navy, and to reflect our dignity and respect and the affection we all had for Prince Philip, and the very clear affection that he had for all of us.’

General Sir Patrick Sanders, Commander of Strategic Command, who has met the duke several times and was at the rehearsal, said viewers can expect a highly moving funeral.

He told BBC Breakfast: ‘I was standing at the rehearsal yesterday and you hear those first notes of Nimrod, and the hairs go up at the back of your neck, you get a lump in your throat.

‘It’s difficult to stifle a tear as you think about the duke and the impact on the royal family and the whole nation – and you stand there a little stiffer, a little straighter, determined to do right by him.’

Royal biographer and Daily Mail columnist Robert Hardman said the funeral plan ‘very much reflects the man’.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today, Mr Hardman said: ‘It is reduced but I don’t think it is any way diminished – the core elements are there.’

He added that it would be a service that ‘very much reflects the man – very unstuffy, unfussy’.

‘You won’t hear a eulogy or any great address – it is very much what he wanted but all the way through it are those echo of his naval career which shaped him,’ Mr Hardman said. 

Some members of the public did visit Windsor this morning, including artist Kaya Mar, 65, from south east London, who took an oil painting of Philip, which he painted last week.

He said: ‘I liked him, he was a lovely family man who will be missed. He was hard-working and dedicated to this country and I think people will finally realise his value. He was a good public servant and will be missed.’ 

Mourners also started congregating a Buckingham Palace, where a massive security operation is also underway.

All surrounding roads have been closed off with dozens of police, some of them armed, on duty. Private security guards have been stationed a police helicopter hovering above.

One officer told MailOnline that they were expecting ‘thousands’ of people to arrive. He added: ‘The funeral may be in Windsor but we’re expecting a lot of people to turn up at Buckingham Palace, as they have been through the week.

‘The sun is out and people have been very moved by Philip’s death. There’s lots of media here and we have to make sure things run smoothly because the eyes of the world are on us.’ 

The first floral tribute, at Buckingham Palace was laid by Claudia, 10, who was accompanied by her mother Chesma, 40.

Chesma revealed that she and her daughter set off from their East London home shortly after 6am and had laid yellow tulips.

She said: ‘We only moved to the UK from India 10 years ago but in that time we’ve come to love the Royal family. They represent this nation and we wanted to pay our respects to Prince Philip.’

Claudia said: ‘I really wanted to come here because I feel sorry for the Queen. She’s going to miss Prince Philip a lot as we all will.’   

The overwhelming majority of people will watch the funeral from their homes, with the BBC, ITV and Sky all broadcasting live.

Many have decked their living rooms with union flags in tribute and shared pictures on social media this morning.  

Last night the Palace shared a touching unseen picture of the Queen with her husband, who died peacefully at the castle on Friday last week at 99.

It shows the couple at one of their ‘happy places’ – the Coyles of Muick hills close to Balmoral, where they enjoyed walking and picnics throughout their long lives together. The Queen so loves the place that she named her new corgi puppy after it.

The photograph – taken by their daughter-in-law the Countess of Wessex in 2003 during one of their family summer holidays – was specially chosen by Her Majesty to share ahead of today’s funeral. 

The couple look blissfully happy and relaxed as they sit back in the heather, the Queen in her off duty Scottish dress of a woollen twinset, pearls and a tartan skirt, with Philip in country casuals and a sun hat resting on his knee. 

The Queen was seen yesterday walking her puppies Muick and Fergus, a dorgi, in the gardens at Frogmore, where her grandson Prince Harry has been quarantining after flying in from the US, leading to speculation she may have greeted him from a distance.

She is said to have been ‘stoical’ about her husband’s death, and has been personally involved in the funeral preparations, including the order that senior royals wear morning dress instead of uniforms to stop tensions over what Andrew and Harry should wear.

She even found time yesterday to talk to governor general of Australia David Hurley and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, both of whom expressed their condolences.

Lord Chartres, a former bishop of London, today said the Queen would be under ‘extraordinary pressure’ during funeral.

The retired Church of England bishop, who was understood to be close to Philip, told BBC Radio 4’s Today: ‘I hope that today people really will be sending up a prayer for the Queen and for the other members of the royal family because having to grieve in public is an extraordinary pressure and something that most of us would not really want to do.

‘But it is part of their life and their world, and I hope today, and I’m sure, that people won’t forget the personal dimension in the formal ceremonies.’ 

Covid has loomed large over the funeral, with mourners reduced from around 800 to just 30, and all guests wearing face masks and sitting apart.

Boris Johnson, who gave up his place, left a wreath for the duke outside St George’s Chapel yesterday saying the nation owes ‘more than words can say’.

All those at the socially distanced service will wear masks, including the Queen. The congregation will not be able to sing and the hymns performed by a small choir of four.

The Queen will follow her husband’s coffin on his Land Rover hearse down from the castle to the chapel in her State Bentley. The Dean of Windsor, the Right Reverend David Conner, who will lead the service, will say of the duke: ‘We have been inspired by his unwavering loyalty to our Queen, by his service to the nation and the Commonwealth, by his courage, fortitude and faith.’

The Archbishop of Canterbury, who will pronounce the Blessing today, said it was important for people to understand the Queen was facing the day with ‘extraordinary dignity and courage’, while saying goodbye to the most important person in her life.

He added that he hoped the nation prayed for her and ‘hope for her to find strength in what must be an anguished moment’.

Meanwhile, the Queen has been forced to ask her family not to military uniforms to save Harry’s blushes. 

Prince Andrew asked to dress as an admiral, has stuck with royal protocol and kept Peter Phillips, her eldest grandchild, at the centre of the procession between the warring brothers. 

He is being seen by royal experts as a ‘mediator’ on the day, having supported them when their mother Diana died in 1997.

Keeping Harry and William apart will be seen by some as a missed opportunity to show family unity in the wake of Prince Philip’s death. 

Others questioned whether the princes were being kept apart deliberately at their own request, but the Royal Family has refused to discuss it. 

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: ‘This is a funeral [and] we will not be drawn into those perceptions of drama. The arrangements have been agreed and reflect Her Majesty’s wishes.’ 

Today royal biographer Hugo Vickers claimed that Peter Phillips, Philip’s eldest grandson, has been deliberately chosen to help his two younger cousins find a way forward with their relationship, which has become badly strained in the past year.

He said: ‘Peter Philips was incredibly good with the boys when Diana died, so I think it will be very good for them. 

‘Sometimes I think that when people behave very well in public, which I think they will do, they find it easier to behave better in private. Prince Philip and the Queen were conciliators all their life so I’m sure that is what he would have wanted’.

Her Majesty’s youngest son Edward, his wife Sophie and their 17-year-old daughter Lady Louise nodded to well-wishers as they drove through the gates of Windsor Castle this afternoon.

The family then stopped to inspect bouquets, notes, cards and balloons left by well-wishers mourning the death of the Queen’s husband a week ago now moved to outside St George’s Chapel.

Sophie, while looking over handwritten letters from children, could be heard saying ‘how sweet’, before speaking to her husband about the huge amount of flowers. 

They walked around for about fifteen minutes before leaving.

Among them were wreaths bearing messages from Boris Johnson, Nicola Sturgeon and the Royal Navy. The couple appeared touched by the tributes.

Edward inspected the tributes 24 hours after his eldest brother Charles shed tears as he did the same at Marlborough House – the home of the Commonwealth – in central London, where floral tributes laid at the gates of Buckingham Palace are brought each evening.

A wreath from Boris Johnson has paid tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh, saying the nation owes him ‘more than words can say’. 

The Prime Minister’s written message, laid outside St George’s Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle, read: ‘In grateful memory of a man to whom the nation owes more than words can say. Sent on behalf of the nation. From the Prime Minister’.

A wreath from Nicola Sturgeon read: ‘With deepest sympathy from the First Minister of Scotland and the Scottish Government.’

The Royal Navy’s tribute read: ‘In gratitude for an exceptional life of service from all ranks of the Royal Navy. Fair winds and following seas.’ 

This morning more tributes flooded in from personal friends of the Duke.  Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan described him as a remarkable human being.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today: ‘We were frequently guests at Sandringham and Balmoral, and in that context established a personal relationship

‘I remember saying to him, ‘How do I refer to you?’. He said, ‘Philip is a perfectly good name’.

‘I think I was very close to knowing the man, the human being, and in that sense I feel the privilege in having known not only an encyclopaedia of knowledge, but also an icon of human dignity.’

Former Buckingham Palace press secretary Charles Anson said: ‘The occasional jokes were often very much enjoyed by those to whom he was speaking, I think he rarely offended all that much.

‘I think Prince Philip’s way of breaking the ice of making a joke including people in a conversation, he was marvellous in that respect.

‘It was Prince Philip who introduced an informal remark and sometimes a joke, but actually when you look back on it very few people took offence, most people could see his sense of humour and knew he was well meaning.

‘He had all that energy and marvellous ideas, and he made great contribution and lightening the atmosphere whilst remaining a very serious figure.’