London: Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has flown in from his California home to London to attend grandfather Prince Philip – the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral on Saturday, according to a UK media report Monday.
The 36-year-old was seen getting off a British Airways flight from Los Angeles that arrived at Heathrow Airport at 1.15pm local time on Sunday and was taken to Kensington Palace, his former London home, ‘The Sun’ newspaper said.
The face-masked royal, the sixth in line to the British throne, was met by security staff and driven off in a black Range Rover.
Buckingham Palace had confirmed over the weekend that Harry would be attending the funeral but wife Meghan Markle, who is heavily pregnant with the couple’s second child, was advised by her doctors against travel.
Harry will not have time to complete 10 days of quarantine before the funeral on Saturday but the current coronavirus lockdown rules allow people to temporarily leave their self-isolation on “compassionate grounds”, which includes a funeral.
He would, however, have needed to provide a negative COVID-19 test before travelling and will have to return two more in the UK – as well as stating providing his location while in England.
The funeral itself is also affected by the coronavirus rules, which limit crowd size to 30 people, with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson giving up his spot to accommodate as many royal family members within that restricted number.
According to details of the Ceremonial Royal Funeral released by Buckingham Palace, the Duke of Edinburgh’s coffin will rest initially in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle, where it will remain until the day of the funeral. On Saturday, the coffin will be carried in a purpose-built Land Rover – which the Duke was involved in the design of – flanked by military Pall Bearers, in a small Ceremonial Procession from the State Entrance of the Castle to St. George’s Chapel, for the Funeral Service, which will begin with a national minute’s silence at 1500 local time.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s “insignia” – the medals and decorations conferred on the late royal by the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries – together with his Field Marshal’s baton and Royal Air Force Wings, together with insignia from Denmark and Greece, will be pre-positioned on cushions on the altar at St. George’s Chapel.
The 99-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth II passed away at Windsor Castle last Friday.
PTI
