Prince Philip laid to rest

Windsor:  Queen Elizabeth II bade a quiet yet nagnificent farewell to her husband of 73 years at a funeral on Saturday. Dressed in black an...

Windsor: Queen Elizabeth II bade a quiet yet nagnificent farewell to her husband of 73 years at a funeral on Saturday. Dressed in black and in a white trimmed black face mask, she stood alone, head bowed as Prince Philip was lowered into the Royal Vault of St George's Chapel in a service attended by senior royals including the heir to the throne, Prince Charles.

Her husband's coffin was borne to the chapel on a Land Rover Defender TD 130 in military green that Philip had himself helped to design, as a minute gun fired eight times.

Philip's children and grandchildren followed behind on foot. His naval cap and sword lay on top of the coffin, which was covered with the Duke of Edinburgh's personal standard featuring the Danish coat of arms, the Greek cross, Edinburgh Castle and the stripes of the Mountbatten family. A wreath of white roses, lilies and jasmine from the queen also adorned the coffin.

There were only 30 mourners inside the chapel because of Coronavirus restrictions in Britain. As the service began at 3 p.m. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson observed a minute's silence, along with millions of Britons.

Before the procession, military bands spaced out across the quadrangle of Windsor Castle in brilliant sunshine to play the prince's chosen music, including "I Vow To Thee My Country", "Jerusalem" and "Nimrod".

The four-person choir sang a sailors' hymn, "Eternal Father, Strong to Save". Shortly before the coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault, the Russian "Kontakion of the Departed", a hymn of the Orthodox and Eastern churches, echoed around the ancient church.

There were no eulogies, just brief words of praise for the prince from the dean of Windsor and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in their prayers.

As the service ended, buglers from the Royal Marines sounded the "Last Post" and then "Action Stations" to honour the late duke's World War II naval service, before the choir sang the national anthem.

The queen left for the castle's apartments in her car but the other royals decided to walk up the hill to the main part of Windsor Castle.  (Agencies)