The funeral service for Prince Philip, the husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, will be held on April 17, Buckingham Palace said on Saturday, confirming that Prince Harry was planning to attend.
The service for Philip, who died aged 99 on Friday, will be held at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, preceded by a national minute’s silence. There will be no public access nor public procession beforehand.
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
The number of mourners will be limited to 30, with Buckingham Palace stressing that the service will be held in line with COVID-19 restrictions, meaning members of the royal family including the queen would be expected to wear a mask.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman confirmed that Harry, who has moved to Los Angeles after giving up royal duties, was planning to attend the funeral, but his pregnant wife Meghan had been advised not to travel by her physician.
An Online Book of Condolence is now available on the Royal website for those who wish to send a personal message of condolence: https://t.co/0w7Vd7kYq0
Visit https://t.co/utgjraQQv5 for updates from Buckingham Palace and information about The Duke of Edinburgh’s life and work. pic.twitter.com/fkV4FTvhqI
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 9, 2021
Meanwhile, the British Broadcasting Corporation said on Saturday it had received complaints about the amount of coverage it dedicated to the death of Prince Philip after some viewers were upset that normal programming was cancelled.
The BBC interrupted normal programming on radio and television a few minutes after Buckingham Palace announced at midday on Friday that Philip had died, and many scheduled programmes were scrapped for the rest of the day to make way for coverage of his death.
To mark the death of His Royal Highness, The Duke of Edinburgh, at 12pm BST today a gun salute began firing from the Tower of London.
In total 41 rounds are being fired, with 1 round every minute, in unison with other saluting batteries across the UK.
“We’re receiving complaints about too much TV coverage of the death of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,” the BBC’s complaints web page said.
Some Twitter users criticised the BBC for acting as a Soviet-style state broadcaster pumping out propaganda while others said it was being unfairly attacked for covering a major news story.
Philip, Queen Elizabeth’s husband, died aged 99 after more than seven decades at her side at the heart of the British monarchy.
“He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know.”
A spokesman for the BBC declined to comment.
Viewing figures show the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 all lost audience on Friday after clearing programmes to run obituaries and reviews of Philip’s life, Deadline reported.
British newspapers were dominated by the news.
The Daily Mail published a 144-page issue, complete with a “magical souvenir magazine” entitled “A VERY dashing Duke”, while The Sun’s headline led with “We’re all weeping with you, Ma’am.”
World leaders pay tribute to Prince Philip:
