Today at 3pm, taking place at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, is the funeral of H.R.H. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh who died peacefully at his home in Windsor Castle last Friday, 9th April.  His death is being mourned across the world.

The photograph shown is one which our Queen shared last night, of the royal couple relaxing on the grass at the Coyles of Muick near the Aberdeenshire town of Ballater, close to the Queen’s private estate of Balmoral in the Scottish Highlands, taken by the Countess of Wessex in 2003.

Prince Philip was born on 10th June 1921, in Mon Repos, Corfu, Greece. His mother was Princess Alice of Battenberg and through his maternal lineage, Philip was a great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria.  His father was Prince Andrew of Greece & Denmark.
In 1922, Philip’s uncle, King Constantine I of Greece, was forced to abdicate after the debacle of the Greco-Turkish War. Philip’s father, who was working in the army, was accused of treason. The family was forced into exile and left the Greek island on board HMS Calypso, a Royal Navy gunboat. Legend tells how then 18-month-old prince was carried in a makeshift cot fashioned out of an orange crate.  
Philip attended the MacJannet American School before he was sent to the UK to study at the Cheam School. During the 1930s, he relocated to a school in Germany and then moved again to Scotland’s Gordonstoun School, founded by Jewish headmaster Kurt Hahn following the rise of the Nazi party. Philip then spent most of his youth in the UK.

Philip and Elizabeth were third cousins through different lines of their family trees. He first met our Queen when Philip was 13yrs old and the Princess Elizabeth was 8yrs.  They both attended the 1934 wedding of Philip’s cousin Princess Marina, later Duchess of Kent, and Elizabeth’s uncle, Prince George, Duke of Kent. They were also both present at the coronation of George VI in 1937.  It would be in the year of 1939 when his romance with Princess Elizabeth blossomed from a summer encounter at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth.  During World War II, he served in the British Navy. After extensive courting, Philip was invited to spend the Christmas of 1943 with the Royal Family at Windsor.  

In the summer of 1946, Philip asked King George for his daughter’s hand in marriage after allegedly proposing to Princess Elizabeth first. To prepare for the announcement, Philip renounced his Greek and Danish royal titles, took on the surname Mountbatten from his mother’s family, adopted Anglicanism as a religion and in February 1947, Philip became a naturalised British subject, thus he became known as Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten.
The style of His Royal Highness was authorised shortly before his marriage on 20th November, 1947 at Westminster Abbey and he was created Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich, and made a Knight of the Garter. He married our Queen on 20th November 1947.

At the Queen’s coronation in 1953, they were joined on the balcony by a young Prince Charles and a younger Princess Anne.

Philip launched the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in 1956, with a focus on youth achievement. He modelled his programme on Kurt Hahn’s four solutions to his “Six Declines of Modern Youth“. He played polo until 1971 and competed in carriage and boat racing, with piloting airplanes, oil painting and art collecting also among his hobbies. The DofE award now extends across 144 nations.

He was accorded by the Queen the style and title of a Prince of the United Kingdom in February 1957.  Prince Philip was also the first member of the Royal Family to be interviewed on television: in May 1961 by Richard Dimbleby.

Many quotes and anecdotes have been published this week as Prince Philip was well known for his outspoken nature and controversial remarks. In honor of his 97th birthday, in 2019, the Daily Mirror published a list of “90 classic gaffes” that were attributed to Philip over the years.

• To the President of Nigeria, who was in national dress, 2003: “You look like you’re ready for bed!”
• When offered wine in Rome in 2000, he snapped: “I don’t care what kind it is, just get me a beer!”
• When a man opens a car door for his wife, it’s either a new car or a new wife.
• At a project to protect turtle doves in Anguilla in 1965, he said: “Cats kill far more birds than men. Why don’t you have a slogan: ‘Kill a cat and save a bird?’”
• To a Scottish driving instructor, 1995: “How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to pass the test?”
• To Aboriginal leader William Brin, Queensland, 2002: “Do you still throw spears at each other?”
• On Princess Anne, 1970: “If it doesn’t fart or eat hay, she isn’t interested.”
• To the General Dental Council in 1960: “Dontopedalogy is the science of opening your mouth and putting your foot in it, which I’ve practised for many years.”
• To nursing-home resident in a wheelchair, 2002: “Do people trip over you?”

The Earl Peel had overseen arrangements for the Duke’s funeral – known as Operation Forth Bridge. The Lord Chamberlain’s Office, led by the Queen’s Comptroller Lieutenant Colonel Michael Vernon, is tasked with the practical side of the day. In overall charge is Baron Parker who took up his new role on 1st April, following the Earl Peel’s retirement after more than 14 years in the post.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex arrived in the UK  earlier this week from the USA.  His wife, the Duchess of Sussex had been advised by her doctor to not travel because she is heavily pregnant.

The Prince worked on creating the bespoke Landrover Defender TD5 130 hearse for 16 years, starting in 2003. He designed the open top rear section where his coffin will rest, made to his exact specifications, including the rubber grips on silver metal pins known as the”stoppers” which prevent the coffin from moving.  The Landrover also has matching green wheel hubs, a black front grille, a single cab and no registration plates.

Only 30 mourners are allowed to attend the service because of coronavirus restrictions. The procession route will be lined by personnel from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, The Highlanders, 4th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland and the Royal Air Force. Prince Charles, along with other members of the royal family, which will include three of Prince Philip’s German relatives, are set to walk in the procession. The Queen will join the procession to the chapel in the state Bentley, following behind the walking members of the Royal Family and staff.

Live coverage of Prince Philip’s ceremonial funeral service will be shown on most TV Channels from 12.30pm as well as being streamed and viewed on the internet and various apps. Prior to the service, at around 2.45 pm, there will be a ceremonial procession inside the grounds of Windsor Castle, also set to be televised.

The Royal Family is observing two weeks of mourning.  R.I.P. Prince Philip.

Our prayers, thoughts and hearts go out to our Queen, Elizabeth II.

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