The funeral for Prince Philip will depart from the usual protocol and see senior royals in civilian dress instead
Members of the Royal Family will break with the usual tradition and not wear their military uniforms at the funeral for the Duke of Edinburgh.
It is understood that the Queen approved this move, which means that Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Andrew will be wearing suits to Saturday’s ceremony.
Under the original plan, Prince Harry was faced with being one of the only close relatives not to be wearing uniform, despite having served in the Army in Afghanistan, as he lost his honorary titles after quitting royal duties.
Protocol suggests that he can only wear a suit with his medals.
This comes after the Queen has returned to her royal duties four days following the Duke of Edinburgh’s death. The monarch hosted an audience with Earl Peel as he formally stood down as Lord Chamberlain.
Andrew and Charles were set to be wearing uniform as a result of their service within the Royal Navy, with Andrew reportedly considering wearing an admiral’s uniform.
He was set to be promoted to the rank of Admiral last year but it was “deferred” when he had stepped back from duties amid outcry over his links with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Prince William served within both the army and Royal Air Force.
The U-turn on the military uniforms was “the most eloquent solution to the problem”, a military source had told The Sun newspaper.
With the Duke’s funeral just days away, the Queen carried out a ceremony at Windsor Castle on Wednesday in order to formally welcome her new Lord Chamberlain, the former boss of MI5 Baron Parker.
He will have overall control of the funeral preceedings in his new post as the most senior official within the royal household.
Saturday’s funeral will take place in St George’s Chapel at Windsor and will have just 30 guests due to the COVID-19 restrictions.
This comes after the BBC has reportedly received 100,000 complaints from the public over its coverage of Prince Philip’s death, according to the Sun newspaper. The BBC had cleared its schedules to cover the news when the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, died at the age of 99, on Friday.
Under the plans, the Duke of Edinburgh’s coffin will be carried into the chapel on a specially modified Land Rover, which he had helped to design.
The Prince of Wales, as well as other royals will be taking part in the funeral procession on foot.
With the royals still mourning the death of Prince Philip, a previously never before seen photo of the Duke and the Queen with seven of their great-grandchildren had been released yesterday.
The picture from 2018 by the Duchess of Cambridge shows the Queen cradling Prince Louis, and with Prince Philip next to Princess Charlotte.