After marrying Queen Elizabeth II in 1947, the Duke of Edinburgh was the longest-reigning consort in British history, standing beside our monarch for over 73 years.
Following his sad death on April 9th 2021, attentions have now turned to Prince Philip's funeral on Saturday.
As the Queen has outlived her husband, she was given an eight day period of mourning where she was able to forgo her Royal duties and let someone stand in her place if needed.
Prince Philip's funeral
The Duke Of Edinburgh's funeral will take place Saturday, April 17 at 3pm, where it has been reported his four children will walk alongside his coffin on the day.
Due to the ongoing social gathering restrictions, only 30 people will be allowed to attend the ceremony. It will however be televised meaning the country can watch and pay their respects that way.
In typical Prince Philip style, he has apparently requested for people to not make a fuss over his funeral. His body will rest in the private chapel at Windsor Castle until the day of the funeral when his coffin will be placed on a modified Land Rover, that the Duke himself helped design, before being carried the short distance to St George's Chapel where the ceremony will take place.
The order of service
14:40: the coffin will be carried out onto the Quadrangle and placed onto the Land Rover.
14:45: The Land Rover, will be flanked by pallbearers from the Royal Marines and other regiments and corps. Members of the Royal Family, including Prince Charles, will walk behind the coffin. The Queen will travel separately to the chapel for the service.
The procession will move from the Quadrangle to Chapel Hill and down to Horseshoe Cloister.
The route will be lined by personnel from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, The Highlanders, 4th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland and the Royal Air Force.
Guns will be fired by The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery from the East Lawn throughout, as a bell tolls in the Curfew Tower, at the west end of the castle.
14:53: the Land Rover will arrive at West Steps of St George's Chapel, and met by a guard of honour and band from the Rifles Regiment, who will play the national anthem.
Members of the Household Cavalry will line the West Steps and a Royal Navy "piping party" will pipe a nautical call known as "the Still" as the coffin is carried up the steps to the chapel.
The coffin, draped with the duke's standard, a wreath and the duke's naval cap and sword on top, will be met by the Dean of Windsor, together with the Archbishop of Canterbury, for the service.
Only the members of the Royal Family and the duke's private secretary will enter the chapel - the rest of the procession will remain outside.
15:00: A minute's silence will be held nationwide, in memory of the duke.
Inside the chapel, the funeral service will begin as the coffin is carried to the Quire, and placed on a platform called a catafalque.
As members of the public have been urged not to travel due to the pandemic, there are other ways you can pay your respects to Prince Philip. On the Royal Family website, you cansend a message of condolence and instead of leaving flowers around Buckingham Palace, the public have been asked to make donations to charities instead.
Who will be attending the funeral?
The guest list includes 30 people, with three German relatives.
Obviously the Queen and their four children, Prince Charles, The Princess Royal, The Duke of York and The Earl of Wessex will be in attendance along with The Duchess of Cornwall, Princess Anne's husband, Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence and Sophie, the Countess of Wessex.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be there as well as Prince Harry. As Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex is heavily pregnant, she is not able to travel from the US on the grounds of medical advice.
The Duke's grandchildren, Peter Phillips, Zara Tindall and her husband Mike, Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, Lady Louise Windsor and Viscount Severn are also expected to attend.
Younger members of the royal family are not expected to attend including Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Philip's two great-nephews (Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Baden, and Prince Philipp of Hohenlohe-Langenburg), and a cousin (Prince Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse) will reportedly also be in attendance at the funeral.
Other members of the royal family who may be attending including Lady Pamela Hicks, Countess Mountbatten of Burma Princess Alexandra, the Duke of Kent and his wife, the Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, Princess Margaret's children the Earl of Snowdon, and Lady Sarah Chatto and the Duke's private secretary Brigadier Archie Miller-Bakewell.
Royals will not wear military uniform at Prince Philip’s funeral
The Queen has decided that senior royals attending the service should be in civilian clothing - those attending will be in morning coats with medals, or day dress.
This means the Duke of Sussex will be one of the only close family members who is not in uniform at Saturday’s service - since Harry lost his honorary military titles after stepping down as a senior working royal.
The decision is a break with tradition for ceremonial royal funerals and will contrast with the strong military presence which will be on show to honour Philip, who served with distinction in the Second World War.
Royal funeral traditions
Historically, the funerals and coronations of members of the Royal Household are usually organised by the Earl Marshal and the officers in the College of Heralds.
Codenames have also been used in the past relating to plans for their funerals. These codenames were first invented so that switchboard operators couldn't learn of Royal deaths ahead of any public announcements. For example, when King George VI passed away in 1952, the phrase "Hyde Park Corner" was used to communicate with government officials about his death.
For 21st century Royals, bridges have been used as codenames. For Queen Elizabeth, operation London Bridge will be used for her death and funeral. Operation Tay Bridge was the name used for the Queen Mother and Diana, Princess of Wales' deaths.
For Prince Philip, his death and funeral plans are under the name Forth Bridge, and operation Menai Bridge refers to the funeral plan for Charles, Prince of Wales.
Once it comes to laying his body to rest, his body will be buried in the grounds of Windsor Castle in Frogmore Gardens. This is a very personal place for the Queen and Prince Philip as it's closed off to the public and is often where she walks her dogs.