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On Tuesday, around 1,800 guests will be attending a memorial service in Westminster Abbey in honor of the Duke of Edinburgh, who died in April. Numerous royals were present.
Queen Elizabeth arrives at Westminster Abbey with her son.
Getty Images
Numerous royals attended the service.
AFP
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Prince Philip’s memorial service was held at Westminster Abbey on Tuesday.
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The Duke of Edinburgh passed away in April aged 99.
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In addition to members of the British royal family, numerous other high-ranking royals came from Europe.
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After various speculations, Queen Elizabeth (95) also took part in the celebrations. She came alongside her son Prince Andrew.
A service in Westminster Abbey on Tuesday in London commemorated Queen Elizabeth’s husband, Prince Philip, who died on April 9, 2021. The service was led by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. Buckingham Palace previously announced that the 95-year-old monarch would also attend the service. She drove around 10.30 a.m. (local time) alongside her son Prince Andrew from Windsor to London, as paparazzi photos showed in advance.
The Queen, who even shed a few tears during the service, was instrumental in planning the approximately 50-minute event, but has been struggling with health problems in recent weeks. Exactly for these reasons she also took the side entrance of the Abbey, and then took a seat next to Prince Charles.
The service ended around 12:20 p.m. (local time). As the BBC reports, Queen Elizabeth immediately drove back to Windsor, where she received a few guests.
Noble guest list
About 1800 family members and guests were expected. In addition to the monarch, Prince Andrew and Prince Charles, this naturally included other members of the British royal family. For example, Duchess Camilla, Duchess Catherine and Prince William came alongside Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Her youngest son apparently stayed at home in Kensington Palace. In addition, Prince Edward and his wife, Countess Sophie of Wessex, entered Westminster Abbey with their children, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, Princess Beatrice and Eduardo Mapelli Mozzi and Princess Anne alongside her husband Timothy Laurence.
In addition, numerous representatives of the European nobility came. Philip’s German relatives, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands with his wife Queen Maxima and his mother Princess Beatrix, Queen Letizia and King Felipe of Spain, and Queen Silvia and King Carl Gustaf of Sweden drove up in a large black coach. Queen Mathilde and King Philippe also traveled from Belgium, as did Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa from Luxembourg. Margarita of Romania and her husband Prince Radu also attended, as did Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia.
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan are missing
Prince Albert flew in from Monaco – without his wife Princess Charléne. Queen Margrethe of Denmark, a good friend of Queen Elizabeth and the only other reigning queen in Europe, was also on the guest list. Politicians were also among the visitors. For example, British Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss and Prime Minister Boris Johnson. In addition, 500 representatives of aid organizations and other groups that Philip supported were invited. However, two were missing from the memorial service: Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan.
Numerous guests wore dark green for the occasion, which according to royal experts is known as Edinburgh green, but may also have been Prince Philip’s favorite color.
Symbolic floral arrangement
According to the BBC, Westminster Abbey has been decorated with orchids. A touching symbol as the Queen also had orchids in her bridal bouquet when she married Philip. During the service, the song “Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer” was heard in the abbey. A wish from Philip for his funeral has now been fulfilled. Only 30 people might attend the funeral last year because of the corona pandemic.
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