This “enduring presence”, as well as his caring character, could be seen clearly during Diana’s funeral on September 6, 1997.
At first, there were no plans for Philip to walk behind the former Princess of Wales’ coffin, as this right was reserved for immediate family only.
However, after talking with his grandson, who requested he walk beside him in support, the Duke of Edinburgh could not say no.
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Philip joined his son - now-King Charles - Prince William and Prince Harry, as well as Diana’s brother Charles, 9th Earl Spencer, behind the coffin during her funeral, when the young royals were only 15 and 12.
Royal biographer Gyles Brandreth said in the ITV documentary Philip: Prince, Husband, Father: “It wasn’t his idea, but there was a tradition at royal funerals of members of the royal family walking behind the hearse.”
“There was no plan originally for Prince Philip to be part of that. Prince Philip said to Prince William, ‘If it would help, I could walk alongside you’.
“So, he volunteered to do that, Prince William accepted the invitation, so far from being what was being reported, it was an act of grandfatherly kindness to try to offer support to Prince William.”
Prior to this, the two young princes had not wanted to walk behind their mum’s hearse.
Ingrid Seward, who wrote My Husband And I: The Inside Story of the Royal Marriage, said: “At first, William flatly refused. Charles pleaded with him and said that it would be utterly wrong of him not to accompany them.”
“Prince Philip weighed into the argument, and eventually, William agreed to take part - but only on the condition that his grandfather walked beside him.”
Philip reportedly said, “It’s about the boys. They’ve lost their mother”, before telling William, “I’ll walk if you walk”.
On the day of the funeral, when he thought no cameras could spot them, Philip whispered something in the Prince’s ear, putting his arm around him and comforting him as they passed underneath the arches of Horse Guard’s Parade.
When asked about the heartbreaking moment, the Duke of Edinburgh said “he didn’t think the cameras could see them”.
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