Prince Philips Funeral.

Pomp and ceremony, but slightly scaled-down, beautiful marching bands, displays of rich uniforms, solemnness when appropriate, but the most important part was that it was exactly how Prince Philip wanted it, he chose what was going to happen at his own funeral, and the people he chose to enforce his wishes did so to perfection. I'm sure a memorial service will take place in due course, when covid allows, but if not we can all remember this great man in our own way.

I definitely shed a few tears to see the tiny figure of our poor widowed Queen sat on her own at the funeral. She looked so small and vulnerable - surely at least one of the family could have sat with her to offer support? It was a beautiful funeral though with lovely music and hymns - all chosen by the Duke himself. It seems he had his funeral planned to be exactly as he wanted it. RIP Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

A brilliant funeral it seemed to be just as Prince Philip would have hoped for, even the weather behaved well. As a Scot I was so proud of the piper from Braemar playing him on the last bit of his journey a very fitting tribute. The Queen has appeared alone before but she looked lonely for the first time and a bit swamped and lost in St. George's. It will be interesting to see how the family handle things from now, especially Prince Harry who will now have to weigh up life in LA against a life he was born for.

Daisend1

I wept for her majesty. To be denied a comforting arm around her, the holding of another hand, watching her husband laid to rest, never was there a time she needed this more.

Apparently it was the Queen's choice to be seated alone. She had her lady in waiting with her in the car and could have had her in the chapel if she had wanted. The Queen probably wanted her grief to be private, she's not known for showing emotion after all.
If the service had us weeping imagine how she was feeling, but not wanting anyone to see.

SueDonim

I thought it was a very moving ceremony, the music and the readings were lovely. Tears sprang immediately to my eyes when the camera showed the Queen looking so tiny as she sat alone with head bowed.

In some ways, I thought it better without all the politicians and dignitaries and so on that you’d normally get at such a time. You knew everyone there had cared about and loved Prince Philip.

I agree. So much more moving with just the family there.

I was busy in the garden but set my phone for 2o’clock so that I could watch the whole thing. I thought it very moving, it brought tears to my eyes. The men looked elegant in morning dress, I’m glad the Queen put a stop to potential embarrassment there, though I did wonder why The Princess Royal had such a huge set of medals on her chest. She’s never served in the armed forces so must be honorary ones.

I loved the pipes, the bugles and that wonderful poem from Ecclesiasticus. A beautiful farewell to the Duke.
I’ll miss him, so can’t imagine how the Queen is feeling.

Wonderful, sad but dignified.

I'm not a royalist nor am I against the royal family but must say I agree that it was beautifully carried out. I shed a tear when "I vow to thee my county" played and when Charles and Anne were walking behind the hearse, Prince Charles looked heartbroken. The lone piper was another moment to shed a tear. Think I realised that the Queen and Prince Philip have been a constant throughout my life and suddenly it changed and it hit me that I am old and am nearer my end than my beginning which was very sobering. Another who was proud to be British yesterday. ??

I'm not a royalist but I thought they did him proud. A lovely tasteful ceremony.
She did look frail.
Bless her

Most probably saw a chance to start another argument....Never mind I was proud watching the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral. Our armed forces at their best but then again they always are.

I just wish they had let us listen to the marching bands at the beginning instead of drowning them.out with commentary telling us for the 2000th time that he served in the war.
Still trying to.work.out why I.burst into.tears at the last post.

Other than the initial announcement on tv, I've not watched any of the coverage over the past week but did plan to watch the funeral.
I'd planned to set the Sky Q to record it then it broke on Wednesday and I'm not getting an engineer until 30/4 so I guess (if I'm lucky) I might be able to download an 'on demand' copy of it.

It was a fitting service for a man who served his wife, our Queen and this country well, just how he wanted it!
Loved his choice of music.

LizH13

Annaram1 yes you are wrong. The bearer team that lead the coffin from the castle to the hearse was. Not sure how you tell when all heads were bent.

And represention from the Royal Gurkha Rifles.

I agree Dottynan, in fact I never even thought of something like that and just watched the televised programme.
Does it really matter or is it even relevant to bring that on the thread, in fact that is the sort of comment that blows things up in the first place.

Annaram1 why did you have to bring that on this thread. If you had cared to have looked for yourself you would have seen

it was beautiful and very moving. let's hope that the family can put all the bad issues behind them and move on.

A wonderful funeral service done with faultless precision truly magnificent.
The Queen will be feeling heartbroken to have lost her husband of 73 years and with her lowered and bowed head in the chapel yesterday my heart went out to her.

I think the Royal Family done the British population proud yesterday and thank them for allowing us to share and watch the televised coverage of the funeral even though they are grieving.

Precisely Grandmajet,my heart went out to her,i shall never forget how sad and alone she looked.

Perfectly done.

Such a moving tribute to Prince Phillip I felt so sorry for the Queen alone in her sorrow but she obeyed the rules which many haven’t done. I am so proud to be British but even more so on occasions like this the British know how to do things. My thought are with our lovely queen God Bless her

The lone piper slowly moving into the distance, symbolic and wonderfully moving.

The Queen had to be seen to obey Covid restrictions, and again showed herself to be the same as every mourning wife...Plus her Lady in Waiting would have counted as one of the 30. The Queen made these decisions-and it must have been hard, but she knew what she was capable of

Callistemon, my daughter read this at my father's funeral (he was a ship's captain) It still brings tears to my eyes & the lines: And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
are on his gravestone. Yesterday's funeral was deeply moving & like many, the sight of HRH's cap, gloves & pot of sugarlumps for the ponies in his carriage made me cry.

Very moving. Had me in tears and seeing the Queen sat on her own was unbearably sad. The world watching on too. He’s always been there for her and now he’s gone. Beautiful funeral on such a beautiful day.