Prince Philip, the husband of Britan’s Queen Elizabeth II passed away at the age of 99 on April 9 (Saturday).
The last rites of Duke of Edinburgh will take place at St. George;s Chapel at Windsor Caste. As per a Page Six report, the funeral will be an intimate affair, limited to 30 participants under strict UK social-distancing rules.
Even Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not attend the mourning ceremony, so as to allow space for as many royal family members as possible.
The service will also see the presence of Prince Philip’s grandson Prince Harry who will reunite with his family to pay his last respects to his grandfather. However, his wife, Meghan Markle will be giving the funeral a miss.
Meghan will not be attending Prince Philip’s last rites as pregnant with the couple’s second child.
Page Six confirmed that the Duchess of Sussex who is is due to give birth to the couple’s second child, a girl, in early summer will stay home in California on her doctor’s advice, Buckingham Palace announced.
Infact, a source close to the royals said that Markle hoped to be at his husband’s side, but the trip and the 12-hour flight were deemed potentially too taxing.
"The Duke of Sussex is planning to attend. The Duchess of Sussex has been advised by her physician not to travel. So the duke will be attending," a royal spokesman said at a press briefing, using Harry’s other title.
Buckingham Palace announced on Friday (April 9) that Philip, the longtime husband of Queen Elizabeth II, died "peacefully" at Windsor Castle at the age of 99, just two months short of his 100th birthday.
Philip became the queen’s consort, or official companion, after her father, King George VI, suddenly passed in 1952. He was the longest-serving British consort over his 73-year marriage to the queen.
Gun salutes were fired earlier on Saturday across the UK, in Gibraltar and at sea in memory of the duke, who was a senior figure in the navy before his marriage to Queen Elizabeth.
(With ANI inputs)
