London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 17, 2025

Justin Welby: Queen set example at Philip's funeral

Justin Welby: Queen set example at Philip's funeral

The Queen's commitment to "doing the right thing" in sitting alone at Prince Philip's funeral has been praised by the Archbishop of Canterbury as a defining example of her sense of duty.

Speaking ahead of the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne on 6 February, Justin Welby said she showed "duty, leadership and character".

He described her Christian faith as "the rock on which she stands".

On Sunday she becomes the first British monarch to mark a Platinum Jubilee.

In an interview with the BBC, the archbishop said the Queen had committed herself to a life of duty and public service.

Leadership


"The clearest moment for me, the absolute summit of that, was that at the funeral of her husband of 70-something years, she sat alone.

"That was leadership, it was doing the right thing, it was duty, it set an example," said the archbishop, who officiated at the funeral, which observed Covid restrictions in place at the time.

The Queen, wearing jewellery given to her by her father, King George VI, was shown well-wishers' jubilee cards


The remarks are likely to be seen as adding to the comparisons with how Covid rules have been observed in Downing Street.

The government has faced intense pressure over events held in and around Downing Street during the pandemic, including two parties held by staff at No 10 on 16 April 2021, the night before Prince Philip's funeral.

Archbishop Welby said the Queen's long reign had provided an international symbol of stability through decades of social and political upheavals.

But he said that her own character was about "humility" and understatement.

"She takes her duties seriously, but she doesn't take herself very seriously. She laughs in private, she has an absolutely superb sense of humour," said the archbishop.

"'It's not about me' almost sums up her reign," he said.

The Queen, aged 95, had a "sense of self-acceptance", said the archbishop. "She doesn't question who or what she is."

Religious faith


The Archbishop of Canterbury emphasised the personal importance of religious faith to the Queen, since she took the throne after the death of King George VI, the father she "adored".

The archbishop says the Queen has been a symbol of stability through decades of change


The archbishop likened her role as monarch to a lifelong religious vocation and the coronation to the vows for religious ministry.

"The coronation service is a form of ordination, in a liturgical sense, and she lives that out without a grumble."

"It is priestly - the language, the structure, it's very similar to an ordination of a priest or a bishop," he said.

The Queen with her father, King George VI, in 1947, succeeded him five years later


The archbishop said the Queen had faced "intense grief", including the loss of her husband, but her personal thoughts remained closed.

"She's immensely private on such things. That is who she is," said the archbishop.

The Queen, the world's longest-serving head of state, is in Sandringham, Norfolk, for the anniversary of her accession in 1952.

It's also a poignant occasion, as this is where her father, King George VI, died, and in photographs published on Friday she is seen wearing jewellery that he gave her for her 18th birthday, in 1944.

The Queen has had many dogs, including Candy the dorgi, a cross between a corgi and a dachsund


Before leaving Windsor Castle she was shown well-wishers' cards and historic items from previous jubilees, including a fan signed by royal relatives from Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887.

"It's very well preserved. Extraordinary, isn't it?" she said, holding up the fan, which included a signature from "Nicky", who became Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.

Queen Victoria had previously held the record for the longest reign in Britain, with more than 63 years on the throne.

Officials at Buckingham Palace say they expect 100,000 letters and cards from well-wishers to be sent to the Queen in a jubilee year.


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
×