The Queen's husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, was laid to rest Saturday in a ceremony at Windsor Castle that was both massively scaled down due to COVID-19 restrictions but still extraordinarily breathtaking.
As a sole bagpiper played in a corridor just off the altar at St. George Chapel, Philip's casket, adorned with his sword, naval cap, and a wreath of flowers, was slowly lowered into the Royal Vault. There his body will rest along with 10 other sovereigns.
Philip died April 9 at the age of 99. In the week since his death, members of the royal family have shared photos and other remembrances of his life and legacy, as husband to the sovereign and as a father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.
Funeral attendees not only included those family members but some of his relatives from his own German and Greek family, such as his great-nephews Prince Philipp of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Baden.
Due to the UK's COVID-19 regulations, only 30 people were allowed to attend the ceremony, excluding members of the clergy and pallbearers.
The funeral was carried out "according to the wishes" of the duke, who had a hand in planning both the service itself — including readings, a quartet choir accompanied by an organ, and eight trumpeters — and the procession that included his children and grandchildren.
Among other details, his coffin was transported to St. George's Chapel in a Land Rover that he helped design before his death. He personally chose all of the music that was performed at the funeral.
One of the more closely watched elements of the funeral was the procession from one segment of the castle to the chapel.
Nine members of the royal family walked behind the Land Rover.
Leading the way were the Queen and Philip's eldest children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne, directly followed by siblings Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.
Philip's eldest grandsons were next in line: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge; Anne's son Peter Phillips; and Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex.
Anne's husband, Vice Admiral Tim Laurence, and Philip's nephew David Armstrong-Jones, the Earl of Snowdon, (Princess Margaret's son) walked behind the grandsons.
Harry was the only one of Philip's grandchildren who attended the funeral without a spouse. It was the first time he was publicly seen alongside his family after an explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey where he accused members of being racist and mistreating his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.
Meghan is pregnant with the couple's second child and was denied clearance to fly to the UK by her physician.
A spokesperson for the Sussexes confirmed to BuzzFeed News that Meghan would be watching the funeral from the couple’s home in Montecito, California, with son Archie, Philip’s great-grandchild. The duchess sent a handwritten note with her husband to be placed on a wreath in the chapel.
The 30 funeral attendees sat socially distanced from each other and did not sing along with the choir during the service, as per the UK government's COVID-19 restrictions.
Here's the full video of the service:
