Danny Lawson – WPA Pool/Getty ImagesBy ZOE MAGEE, ABC News
(LONDON) — The funeral for Britain’s Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, will be held April 17 and limited to 30 guests, Buckingham Palace announced.
The Duke of Edinburgh, who died Friday at the age of 99, will be given a ceremonial royal funeral and will not lie in state, palace officials said during a press briefing Saturday.
“The plans for the funeral are very much in line with the Duke of Edinburgh’s own wishes,” a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.
The funeral service will begin at 3 p.m. local time at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, England, starting with a national minute of silence.
Funeral guests will be limited to 30 people, excluding clergy and pallbearers, and include royal family members and Prince Philip’s private secretary.
According to a royal source, Prince Harry will attend his grandfather’s funeral, though his wife, Megan Markle, who is currently pregnant with their second child, has been advised by her doctor not to travel.
The final guest list is expected to be provided in a briefing on Thursday.
Prince Charles paid tribute to his father, Prince Philip in a video posted on Twitter. He called his father “dear Papa” and a “very special person who, I think above all else would have been amazed by the reaction and the touching things that have been said about him.”
The Prince of Wales pays tribute to The Duke of Edinburgh on behalf of The Royal Family. pic.twitter.com/tDP0rkKGzc
— The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall (@ClarenceHouse) April 10, 2021
Prince Philip’s coffin, which is currently at Windsor Castle, will be carried to the chapel in a specially modified Land Rover that the duke himself had a hand in designing, a palace spokesperson said.
Funeral guests will follow the route during the royal procession. Arrangements for the Queen in the procession also will be confirmed next week.
Following the service, the coffin will be interred in the royal vault.
Coronavirus measures will be observed for both the procession and funeral service, officials said. England is in its third national lockdown during the pandemic, enacted earlier this year after the discovery of a more transmissible COVID-19 variant.
The funeral service will be broadcast “to enable as many people as possible to be part of the occasion, to mourn with us and celebrate a truly extraordinary life,” a palace spokesperson said.
“While there is sadness that the public will not be able to physically be part of events to commemorate the life of the duke, the royal family ask that anyone wishing to express their condolences do so in the safest way possible and not by visiting Windsor or any other royal palaces to pay their respects,” the spokesperson said.
A period of national mourning is being observed leading up to the funeral. The royal family and members of the household are also observing two weeks of mourning and wearing mourning bands when appropriate.
On Saturday, military teams across the U.K. fired 41-gun salutes to mark the death of the former naval officer.
ABC News’ Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.
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