The brothers will not walk shoulder to shoulder in the procession but will be separated by cousin Peter Phillips, Princess Anne’s son, as they walk in a line behind their grandfather’s coffin.The Queen approved the plan for the brothers to be kept apart. The siblings famously trailed behind their mother Princess Diana’s coffin as young boys after her death in 1997 in one of the most heartbreaking sights of the tragic time.The Duke of Edinburgh’s coffin will be carried to St George’s Chapel at Windsor by a Land Rover designed to his specifications and painted a shade of green favoured by the military.The Queen, accompanied by a lady in waiting, will wear a mask throughout proceedings and follow her husband’s funeral procession in her official Bentley, Buckingham Palace has revealed as it laid out the details of the ceremony.During the service, the monarch will sit alone in the quire (choir area) of the chapel.The processing senior royals will wear morning coats or day dress with medals, avoiding awkward scenes with Prince Harry and Prince Andrew unable to wear military uniform.The procession will include Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, Prince Andrew, Prince Harry, Peter Phillips, Prince William, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, The Earl of Snowdon, Philip’s personal protection officer, private secretary, two pages and two valets.The 30 guests include the Duchess of Cornwall, all the Duke of Edinburgh’s grandchildren and their spouses, the children of the Queen’s sister Princess Margaret, and three of Philip’s German relatives — Bernhard, the hereditary prince of Baden; Donatus, prince and landgrave of Hesse; and Prince Philipp of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.Countess Mountbatten of Burma, Penelope “Penny” Knatchbull, is also invited as one of Philip’s closest friends and carriage driving partner. Prime Minister Boris Johnson chose not to attend to allow as many royals and close friends to attend as possible.However, Sarah Ferguson, ex-wife of Andrew and the mother of the Philip’s grandchildren Eugenie and Beatrice, was one notable snub with the number of mourners limited to 30 due to COVID-19 restrictions.Soldiers, guardsmen and the royal horse artillery gathered at Windsor on Thursday for a dress rehearsal for the former naval commander’s military funeral, which promises pomp and ceremony despite the limitations.Mounted soldiers from the King’s Troop royal horse artillery processed along The Long Walk at Windsor, while the Royal Air Force marched with instruments and the Household Cavalry and Life Guards appeared in ceremonial uniforms.However, the BBC has promised it will not broadcast wall-to-wall coverage after the broadcaster received a record number of complaints over its 24-hour simulcast across its two main channels after the Duke of Edinburgh’s death last week.The funeral will be broadcast live on BBC One and three radio stations on Saturday afternoon local time and be repeated on BBC Two that evening, but schedules will otherwise remain largely as planned.‘Once met, never forgotten’Meanwhile, a grieving Prince Charles and Camilla surveyed piles of floral tributes Marlborough House, just off The Mall, while Prince Edward has delivered a heartfelt tribute to his father, calling him an “inspiration” and a man “once met, never forgotten”.The Earl of Wessex said in a message shared by Buckingham Palace that the Duke of Edinburgh “had a unique ability to make a lasting impression in a remarkably short time”.Edward, 57, said that the royal consort’s “spirit and ethos lives on” and that it had been “truly uplifting” reading people’s memories of his late father.RELATED: Huge royal snub at Prince Philip’s funeralEdward, who is said by some insiders to be the Queen’s favourite son, thanked those who had shared stories of receiving the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and in some cases meeting Prince Philip.“He had a unique ability to make a lasting impression in a remarkably short time,” said the Earl of Wessex, who is 12th in line to the throne. “I, like all my family, have a lifetime of lasting impressions, inspiration, shared passions and love.”“I think I may have said once that he was a man that once met, never forgotten.“He may have departed this world, but his spirit and ethos lives on through his Award, through each and every life touched, transformed, inspired; then, now and in the future. Thank you one and all for helping to create such an extraordinary tribute.”RELATED: How ‘shy’ Sophie Wessex became the Queen’s rock While other royals including Prince Andrew, Harry and William have been making headlines for the wrong reasons in recent times, Edward and his family continue to make a sparkling impression.On Sunday, the Queen’s youngest son said his father’s death was “a dreadful shock” and the family were “still trying to come to terms with that”.Prince Edward noted that the Duke of Edinburgh, who died aged 99 at Windsor Castle last Friday, “might have been our father, grandfather, father-in-law, but he meant so much to so many other people.”His wife, the Countess of Wessex, also conducted herself with grace, delivering some of the most poignant remarks on Philip’s death of any family member.On Saturday, a tearful Sophie Wessex lowered her Range Rover’s window to say the Queen had been “thinking of others before herself, she’s amazing.”On Sunday, the 56-year-old stood beside her husband as she explained that Prince Philip’s death “so gentle“ as though somebody “took him by the hand.”She added: “You know it’s going to happen but when it happens it’s just this massive, massive hole.“It was so gentle, it was just like someone took him by the hand and off he went.“Very, very peaceful – and that’s all you want with somebody isn’t it?“I think it’s so much easier for the person that goes than the people left behind.“We’re all sitting here looking at each other going, ‘This is awful’.”The Queen is understood to hold Edward in very high regard, spending more time with him than with her other children, Andrew, Anne, or her firstborn Charles, who is 15 years older than his youngest brother.The monarch, 94, also has “great affection.” for Sophie, according to a courtier who told The Sun she was “much more than a daughter-in-law, more of a daughter.”Edward “is very good company, a lot more laid back than he appears in public,” the source added.“And unlike the rest, he doesn’t ask her for anything or expect things from her.”Meanwhile, Prince Charles and Camilla looked over floral tributes and even a mini-Land Rover at Marlborough House, the headquarters of the Commonwealth and the seat of its Secretariat, just off The Mall.The flowers and messages had been left at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace but were gathered up and moved to a private area to discourage people from gathering during COVID restrictions. A small model of a Land Rover similar to the one that will bear Philip’s coffin on Saturday was left with “The Duke. R.I. P” on the roof. A card with it read: “Your memory will never fade. Rest in Peace.”The Prince of Wales said on Sunday that he misses his father “enormously” and the Duke would be “so deeply touched” by the outpouring of grief.How to find news on news.com.au
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