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Prince Harry will attend Prince Philip's funeral - but Meghan Markle won't

Photo credit: Max Mumby/Indigo - Getty Images
Photo credit: Max Mumby/Indigo - Getty Images

Following the sad death of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, yesterday aged 99, it's been confirmed that grandson Prince Harry will travel to the UK to attend. His wife Meghan Markle, on the other hand, is unable to travel being heavily pregnant, and therefore will not be in attendance.

It's now been confirmed that Prince Philip's funeral will take place at 3pm on Saturday, 17 April, with a small group of 30 family and long-serving workers. Prince Harry, who lives in California with Meghan and their one-year-old son Archie, will fly home to the UK on his own. Royal correspondent Omid Scobie reports the Duke of Sussex will follow all US and UK COVID-19 protocols in the process of attending the funeral.

Scobie reports that a source says Meghan made "every effort" to travel, but was not given medical clearance to fly from her physician. The 39-year-old is expecting her second child, a daughter, in the coming months, and is likely now in her third trimester.

Photo credit: Chris Jackson - Getty Images
Photo credit: Chris Jackson - Getty Images

Prince Philip passed away peacefully yesterday morning (9 April) at Windsor Castle, not long after returning home from a month-long stay in hospital. In response to the news, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle paid tribute to their grandfather and grandfather-in-law via their Archewell website.

The couple removed all functions from the site and put some words in his honour up instead. "In loving memory of His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh," the words read, along with the dates of his life, 1921-2021.

In a personal note underneath, Harry and Meghan wrote: "Thank you for your service... you will be greatly missed."

Photo credit: Archewell
Photo credit: Archewell

Weeks before Prince Philip's sad death, Prince Harry shared a funny anecdote involving his much-loved grandfather during an interview with James Corden, saying that despite having moved to Los Angeles with his young family, he and Meghan remained in regular contact with the Queen and Philip over Zoom.

When asked by James if the Queen knows how to video call, Harry responded with a laugh and said, "Yes, both my grandparents do... We’ve Zoomed them a few times, they’ve seen Archie running around. But my grandfather, instead of pressing 'leave meeting', he just goes ‘doof' [mimics shutting the laptop]. I’m like, okay, bye?"

Photo credit: Phil Walter - Getty Images
Photo credit: Phil Walter - Getty Images

Our thoughts are with the entire royal family during this very sad time.


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