prince william kate middleton funeral arriving© Photo: Rex

Prince William and Kate depart Kensington Palace for Prince Philip's royal funeral

The service is starting at 3pm

Content Managing Editor
April 17, 2021

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are en route to Windsor to attend Prince Philip's ceremonial royal funeral on Saturday afternoon.

Looking sombre and dressed in black, the couple were pictured leaving their London home, Kensington Palace, just after 1 o'clock. Both wore black face masks while Kate accessorised with a black veiled fascinator, a pearl choker and drop down pearl earrings.

William and Kate will be among the 30 guests at the ceremony, which has been limited in numbers due to the current lockdown restrictions. Her Majesty the Queen and the four children she shared with her husband of 73 years – Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward – will lead the royal family in paying their respects at St George's Chapel.

MORE: Prince Philip's funeral details: face masks, touching elements and more revealed

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The Cambridges will join the royal family in celebrating Prince Philip's incredible life and legacy at Saturday's service. The Duke died peacefully aged 99 last Friday 9 April at home in Windsor Castle.

William's brother Prince Harry flew in from California to attend the funeral; he had been self-isolating at his home, Frogmore Cottage, until the day, which is also currently occupied by Princess Eugenie, Jack Brooksbank and their newborn baby son August. Harry's wife Meghan Markle, meanwhile, had been advised not to travel due to the advanced stages of her pregnancy.

MORE: Prince William shares adorable photo of young Prince George with Prince Philip

MORE: Lady Louise Windsor wears black as she mourns grandfather Prince Philip

Other royals who will be in attendance include Charles, Anne and Edward's spouses – the Duchess of Cornwall, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence and the Countess of Wessex respectively – as well as William and Harry's royal cousins: Peter Phillips, Zara and Mike Tindall, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn.

© Photo: Rex

The Cambridges pictured departing Kensington Palace

In line with Prince Philip's wishes, his loyal press secretary and long-standing aide, Brigadier Archie Miller Bakewell, was also invited to attend but will not sit with the royal family in the quire of the chapel. The funeral, which will be broadcast on BBC One, will start with a minute's silence at 3pm.

MORE: Sophie Wessex says Prince Philip's passing was 'peaceful' and 'gentle'

© Photo: Getty Images

The Cambridges pictured on their way to Windsor

In a touching detail, Prince Philip's coffin will be driven from the State Entrance of the Castle to the West Steps of the Chapel on a specially modified Land Rover he helped design himself. The coffin, draped in the Duke's personal standard and with flowers, his Naval Cap and sword placed on top, will be carried from the State Entrance to the Land Rover by pallbearers from the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards at 2.40pm.

At 2.45pm the Prince of Wales and other members of the family will walk in procession behind the coffin along a route lined with socially distanced servicemen and women from across the Armed Forces. Other representatives from regiments associated with the Duke will pay compliments from the Castle's quadrangle as the coffin departs the State Entrance.

Illustration by Laura Barnard

At the West Steps, a bearer party from the Royal Marines will carry the coffin up to the doors of the Chapel as a Royal Naval pipe band played, ahead of the minute's silence.

The intimate service, conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the Dean of Windsor David Conner, will follow a military funeral procession. At the end of the ceremony, the Duke's coffin will be interred in the Royal Vault beneath the Chapel.

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