London: Prince William and Prince Harry will be kept apart during Prince Philip’s funeral, in a fresh display of the deep rift between the brothers.
Buckingham Palace on Thursday released more details about the Duke of Edinburgh’s farewell, including confirmation the Queen will have to wear a face mask during the 50-minute service and sit two metres apart from other mourners.
Prince Harry and Prince William, pictured together in 2015. Credit:AP
William will enter standing next to Phillips, and Harry will walk alongside David Armstrong-Jones, the Queen’s nephew.
It was widely expected that the brothers would walk alongside each other at the event as a display of unity following months of private and public acrimony.
Meghan – who is pregnant with the couple’s second child – had been advised by her doctor against travelling and remained behind at the pair’s California mansion. Her absence will help avoid a media circus that might have overshadowed Saturday’s event.
Just 30 family members can attend Saturday’s funeral to adhere to coronavirus restrictions in England.
The new details about the slimmed down send-off were revealed as the BBC announced 110,000 complaints about its coverage of Philip’s death last Friday.
The figure is the largest in British television history.
Philip’s death at age 99 prompted the BBC to clear its regular schedule across multiple television stations and radio channels for hours of identical programming.
“The passing of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh was a significant event which generated a lot of interest both nationally and internationally,” the BBC said in a statement.
“We acknowledge some viewers were unhappy with the level of coverage given and impact this had on the billed TV and radio schedules.
“We do not make such changes without careful consideration and the decisions made reflect the role the BBC plays as the national broadcaster during moments of national significance.”
Some viewers also complained about the inclusion of Andrew in a documentary about Philip’s life. The Queen’s controversial son was forced to step down from public duties in 2019 over his friendship with billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
On this issue, the BBC said: “All of Prince Philip’s children gave a tribute to their father following his passing, which we have covered in our news programming.
“We have fully reported on the allegations against Prince Andrew and we have also made it clear that he has not been charged with any crime. We consider we have appropriately covered his comments.”
Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, inspect flowers left for Prince Philip. Credit:Getty
Buckingham Palace also announced on Thursday that no member of the royal family would wear military uniform at Saturday’s service. The decision heads off days of debate in Britain about whether Andrew and Harry should be allowed to don the uniform as non-working members of the family.
Andrew is an honorary vice-admiral in the Royal Navy and Harry served two tours in Afghanistan with the military.
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