Irish Guards to play key role in Philip’s funeral that was ‘decades in the making’

The Irish Guards will play a central role in the ceremonial procession of Prince Philip’s funeral today.

The guards represent one of the Foot Guards regiment and form one of two Irish infantry regiments of the British Army.

The regiment was formed in 1900 by Queen Victoria and traditionally Prince William and his wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge present shamrocks to the soldiers on St Patrick’s Day.

The late Duke of Edinburgh will be laid to rest at St George’s Chapel in Windsor today in a pared-back ceremony with only 30 guests in attendance, all of whom are his close family members from the UK and Germany. Under usual circumstances, his funeral would have attracted more diplomatic attention with an estimated guest list of 800 people, but Covid-19 regulations has meant his intentions for an already low-key funeral will be muted even further.

Captain Tom Orchard of the Irish Guards said that preparations for his funeral had been in place effectively for decades, but active coordination has been in effect since Monday. He described it as a “source of great pride and honour” to be part of what he described as a “bespoke parade trying wherever possible to exercise restrictions” in the socially distanced military parades taking place on the grounds of Windsor Castle.

“The planning was decades in the making, but of course we’ve only had a little over a week’s notice for the execution phase,” Mr Orchard said.

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth has taken every opportunity to ensure that the focus of Prince Philip’s funeral will be in remembrance of her husband with no distractions of the family’s ongoing personal drama. Over the last week, the BBC has faced a record number of complaints regarding its wall-to-wall coverage of the late royal’s death. Behind the scenes, the funeral has been marred by private drama between the family. The British royals, long considered the world’s longest running real-life soap opera, are working together to put aside their squabbles amid a time of increasing tensions between family members.

Since returning to the UK from his new Los Angeles home, Prince Harry has become the subject of both ire and admiration by critics and supporters. It’s clear that the queen is doing her utmost to present a unified front on a day of mourning. Harry was stripped of his honorary military titles after leaving the family last year, and while royals traditionally wear military garb at state occasions like funerals, all male guests have instead been instructed to wear black suits. This is being done to save the Duke of Sussex any embarrassment as one of the few members of the family who have served in active combat but would not be permitted to wear military attire.

While the focus has been on Harry, it’s also likely the queen implemented the rule as a protective measure against criticism of her son Prince Andrew, who has seemingly treated his father’s death as an opportunity to return to the spotlight from royal exile, and was insistent he wear an Admiral’s uniform.

The ceremony has been planned with, quite literally, military precision beginning from 2.41pm. Philip’s coffin will be driven in a modified Land Rover, a hearse he specially designed for his funeral 16 years ago. Music will be performed by a small choir of four. Guests, who will be wearing masks, are still discouraged from singing along for hygiene reasons.

Queen Elizabeth (94) will arrive at the chapel by Bentley, and her four children will follow her on foot. Crucially, as part of the ongoing image management strategy, Queen Elizabeth has approved a decision that Harry and William will not stand next to each other at the funeral at any stage. While no official reason was given, it is likely that the British monarch knows that the reunion between the estranged brothers would overshadow the coverage of her husband of 73 years’ funeral.

Pictures of Harry and William standing uncomfortably next to one another would undoubtedly serve as the bedrock of archival footage and be used as the subject of endless tabloid articles illustrating their fractured relationship. Instead, Peter Philips, Princess Anne’s husband, will walk between the two.

Irish Independent