Queen sits alone as she mourns at funeral of husband Prince Philip

The Queen sat alone in grief at her husband’s funeral wearing a face mask due to coronavirus rules.

A ceremony to lay Prince Philip, who died at the age of 99 on April 9, to rest took place at 3pm this afternoon in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

The scaled-down event was led by the Dean of Windsor, alongside the Archbishop of Canterbury, with just 30 guests which is the maximum allowed under lockdown restrictions.

All those in attendance followed Covid-19 guidelines, which means they had to socially distance from those outside their household and wear masks.

‘Unwavering loyalty to our Queen’

David Conner, the Dean of Windsor, said as he opened the ceremony: ‘We are here today in St George’s Chapel to commit into the hands of God the soul of his servant Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

‘With grateful hearts, we remember the many ways in which his long life has been a blessing to us.

‘We have been inspired by his unwavering loyalty to our Queen, by his service to the nation and the Commonwealth, by his courage, fortitude and faith.

‘Our lives have been enriched through the challenges that he has set us, the encouragement that he has given us, his kindness, humour and humanity.

‘We therefore pray that God will give us grace to follow his example, and that, with our brother Philip, at the last, we shall know the joys of life eternal.’

The Last Post was played to honour his active service in the Royal Navy during the Second World War.

Music, readings and prayers to honour the Duke’s love of the sea were also included and Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, read a blessing at the end of the service. The funeral came to a close at 3.49pm.

The Duke of Edinburgh helped arrange every detail of his funeral, though plans had to be adapted last minute due to Covid-19.

Before leaving for the chapel, Duke of Edinburgh’s coffin was loaded onto a Land Rover – specially adapted into a hearse as designed by the Prince himself – around 2.30pm.

The Queen, accompanied by a lady-in-waiting, left from the Sovereign’s Entrance of the castle in the State Bentley while the national anthem was played.

A royal salute was given by the service detachments, the service chiefs, the pall bearers, and the Major General commanding the Household Division and his staff.

Then the procession set off towards the chapel to the sound of a gun salute by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery.

The journey took around eight minutes and the Queen was thought to have paused in reflection for a silent moment when she first saw Prince Philip’s hearse and coffin.

It was just before the funeral procession turned to face the direction of the chapel.

It marked the very last time that the Queen had a moment alone with her late husband, who she was married to for 73 years.

A national minute of silence then took place before the funeral officially started.

The Armed Forces conducted a ceremonial gun fire at nine locations across the country to begin and end the moment.

Hundreds of people were pictured in Windsor, and also outside Buckingham Palace in London, marking the moment of remembrance in collective grief.

In a statement posted just after the minute of silence at 3pm, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award wrote on Instagram: ‘Thank you, Your Royal Highness, for the incredible legacy you leave through (the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award), empowering young people across the world with the skills, confidence and resilience to make the most of life and make a difference to the world around them.’

At the funeral, the Queen was seen sat with her head bowed, apart from her children.

Prince Harry and Prince William sat opposite each other at the ceremony as they bid farewell to their grandfather. Separated in the initial procession, the brothers were later seen walking together after the funeral ended.

The funeral marks Prince Harry’s first trip to the UK since he and his wife, Meghan Markle, quit as senior royals – and following the fallout of the couple’s controversial interview with talk show host Oprah Winfrey last month.

A topless woman has been arrested by police during the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.

Outside the gates of Windsor Castle, which are closed to the public, several police officers were pictured arresting a topless woman.

She ran onto the road shouting ‘save the planet’ after the crowd began clapping following a minute’s silence for Prince Philip.

She jumped onto a statue of Queen Victoria before police officers removed her from the scene on Castle Hill. Police were later seen retrieving the woman’s clothes.

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