Friday marks the end of a two-week period of mourning for the British royal family following the death of Prince Philip.
The Duke of Edinburgh died on April 9 at the age of 99. Following his passing, Buckingham Palace announced Queen Elizabeth II‘s wishes included two weeks of royal mourning from the date of her husband’s death. The 14-day period was carried out by members of the royal family and their households.
However, the 95-year-old reigning monarch suggested royal family members would continue undertaking engagements that were “appropriate to the circumstances” in addition to wearing mourning bands during the timeframe.
The royal family’s mourning period lasted almost one week longer than the national mourning period which was held from April 9 until April 17, the day the Duke of Edinburgh was laid to rest at a ceremonial royal funeral held in Windsor, England.
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Britain’s Prince William and Kate Duchess of Cambridge sit together at St. George’s Chapel during the funeral for Prince Philip, at Windsor Castle, Windsor, England. Prince Philip died April 9 at the age of 99 after 73 years of marriage to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.
(Yui Mok/Pool via AP)
During the national period of mourning, Union flags were flown at half-mast at royal residences, government buildings, U.K. posts overseas, and at establishments of the armed forces, the palace previously noted. The Royal Standard also remained at full mast.
On Wednesday, Queen Elizabeth II turned 95. Kate Middleton paid a subtle tribute to Her Majesty by donning a pair of diamond and pearl earrings she borrowed from the monarch as she and Prince William, 38, visited 282 (East Ham) Squadron, Air Training Corps in East London. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge both wore black to carry on in remembrance of the Queen’s late husband of 73 years.
Further extending their ties to the late Duke of Edinburgh on Wednesday, William and Middleton’s visit to the Air Training Corps in East London was significant in the respect that Philip had served as Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Air Training Corps for 63 years until 2015, when he passed the military patronage on to Middleton, who became Honorary Air Commandant.
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Philip’s celebration of life, which he had a major role in planning prior to his death, was attended by his and the queen’s four children — Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward — as well as Charles’s wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall; Anne’s husband Timothy Laurence and Edward’s wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II looks on as she sits alone in St. George’s Chapel during the funeral of Prince Philip.
(Jonathan Brady/Pool via AP)
Philip’s grandchildren — which include Peter Phillips, Zara Tindall, Prince William, Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Lady Louise and James, Viscount Severn — also were in attendance.
Meanwhile, Prince William’s wife, Kate Middleton, Zara Tindall’s husband, Mike Tindall, Princess Eugenie’s husband, Jack Brooksbank and Princess Beatrice’s husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, will also join their royal spouses at the family event.
The queen sat alone in St. George’s Chapel during the funeral.
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Philip married then-Princess Elizabeth in 1947 and is the longest-serving royal consort in British history.
The Duke of Edinburgh served in the Royal Navy for 12 years. Military personnel had a large role in honoring him Saturday despite the attendance limit due to coronavirus restrictions in England.
(Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire)
Prince Harry, who made the trip overseas from his home in California, has since returned to the U.S. to reunite with his wife Meghan Markle, who was advised by a doctor not to attend as she’s pregnant with the couple’s second child.
On Feb. 16, Philip was admitted to a London hospital after feeling unwell. On March 3, he underwent a procedure for a pre-existing heart condition at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital before being transferred back to King Edward VII hospital on March 5 and ultimately released home on March 16.
The royal family confirmed the Duke of Edinburgh’s death on April 9 in a statement.
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“It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle,” the statement reads.
During England’s coronavirus lockdown, he had been staying at Windsor Castle, west of London, with the queen.
