The recently vaccinated Queen sat on her own,two metres apart from other family members,due to coronavirus rules.
There was no eulogy,sermon or readings,however David Conner,the Dean of Windsor,opened witha tribute to Philip’s decades of public service.
“With grateful hearts,we remember the many ways in which his long life has been a blessing to us,” Conner said.
“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.”
The eight-minute ceremonial procession from Windsor Castle,where Philip had been lying-in-rest since his death on April 9,to St George’s Chapel featured references to his service in the Royal Navy during World War II and lifelong passion for the military.
Four Defence Advisors from the Commonwealth nations of Australia,Canada,New Zealand and Trinidad and Tobago were positioned outside the 15th century chapel to watch as the coffin paused on the steps for a national minute’s silence. Philip wanted Australia’s representative,Commodore Guy Holthouse,there as a nod to his long links to the country.
Prince Charles sheds a tear as he follows the coffin at Windsor Castle.Credit:Getty Images
People who gathered outside the walls of Windsor Castle were politely asked to go home and watch the service on television.
“He was a character,an absolute character,” said Jenny Jeeves,who briefly inspected floral tributes.
“He was fun,he was funny. Yes,he made quite a few gaffes,but it depends which way you took it really. Just a wonderful husband,father,and grandfather,and a good example to all of us.”
Justin Welby,the Archbishop of Canterbury,said ahead of the funeral:“The royal family just kept to the rules and that means they’ve gone through what millions of others have gone through which is not really being able to say goodbye in the way they’d hoped or planned”.
“We can never fail to be admiring of the way Her Majesty behaved.”
The Queen arrives for the funeral in the state Bentley.Credit:Getty Images
With the congregation also banned from singing,four members of the St George’s Chapel choir performed William Whiting’s hymn Eternal Father,Strong to Save, and three other songs - two of which were composed at Philip’s request.
Australian Jason Groves,a trustee of Britain’s Cathedral Music Trust,said of the repertoire:“The choice of music clearly reflects Prince Philip’s love of the English choral music tradition. While Robert Stone’sLord’s Prayer will be familiar to anyone who’s been to Evensong in the last 400 years,Benjamin Britten’sJubilate in C is an exuberant example of how this glorious tradition has evolved.
“The strikingly beautiful RussianKontakion for the Departed,increasingly sung at Anglican funerals,is a nod to his baptismal Orthodox faith.”
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A lift powered by an electric motor lowered Philip’s coffin from the chapel’s Quire to the royal vault below. He will be interred there until the Queen dies and the pair are buried together in the King George VI memorial chapel,a tiny stone annex which is also the resting place of the Queen’s father,mother and sister Princess Margaret.
Prince Harry walked with Prince William after their grandfather’s funeral,talking with his brother and William’s wife Catherine,the Duchess of Cambridge.
As the service drew to a close,The Last Post rang out across the grounds of Windsor Castle,and the Queen exited the chapel which has hosted dozens of important royal occasions during her reign. This time,though,Philip was not walking two steps behind.