London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Nov 26, 2025

Queen attends Prince Philip memorial service at Westminster Abbey

Queen attends Prince Philip memorial service at Westminster Abbey

The Queen has joined her family at a memorial service to celebrate the life of the Duke of Edinburgh.

Her son the Duke of York - in his first public appearance since settling a civil sex assault case - accompanied her to Westminster Abbey.

Prince Philip, who died last year aged 99, was described as a "remarkable man" committed to "down-to-earth" causes.

The service was organised as Covid rules meant his funeral, held almost a year ago, had only 30 people present.

Representatives of many of his charities - including the Duke of Edinburgh Award - attended Tuesday's service, which had 1,800 people in attendance.

It was the first major event this year attended by the 95-year-old monarch, who travelled by car from Windsor Castle with Prince Andrew.

There had been doubts she would attend, and she only made the final decision in the hours before the service.

The Queen has had mobility problems and had to pull out of the Commonwealth Service earlier this month. She also tested positive for Covid in February.

Special measures were put in place for her comfort, including keeping the length of the service to 45 minutes.

Amid these health concerns, there was nervousness on Tuesday morning among people awaiting confirmation that the Queen would be able to attend, our BBC's royal correspondent Sean Coughlan says.

The Queen arrived at the service with Prince Andrew


Unlike the funeral in Windsor last April, where the Queen was poignantly pictured sitting alone, she had close family members in all the seats around her.

The Queen and Prince Philip's two elder children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne, were sitting in the same row as her.

Prince William and his wife Catherine were in the row directly behind along with two of the Queen's great-grandchildren, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

The Queen's other two sons, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, also had front row seats, across the aisle from the Queen.

But Prince Harry, who has been in a legal dispute over the provision of security, did not travel from California, where he lives.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte attended the service with their parents

The Duchess of Cornwall was among those - including the Queen and Princess Royal - choosing to wear dark green for the service

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie attended with their husbands


Political leaders including Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer were among the guests, as were representatives from European royal families, including from the duke's native Greece.

The service was stamped with the personality of Prince Philip, with many of the elements originally intended for his funeral at St George's Chapel included.

Those elements included the entry to Westminster Abbey being lined by Duke of Edinburgh gold award winners as mourners arrived.

Duke of Edinburgh gold award winner Doyin Sonibare gave a speech describing the opportunities the award had opened up to her


One winner of the prestigious award, Doyin Sonibare, gave a speech where she explained she originally wasn't "sold on the idea", as she had never been camping before and had a fear of climbing steep hills.

The 28-year-old award ambassador from east London said: "I kept thinking I was going to trip up, roll down the mountain and 'it's lights out for Doyin'. Fortunately for me, that didn't happen.

"I remember thinking to myself, if I could complete this expedition, I can do anything."

The hymn Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer, also intended for the funeral, was sung, and there was music by Beethoven, JS Bach, Wagner, Vaughan Williams and William Byrd heard during the service.

The Queen is also said to have been closely involved in the planning of the service.

Dean of Windsor David Conner - a long-time friend of Prince Philip who also conducted his funeral - told the congregation at this service that the duke's life "bore the marks of sacrifice and service".

"Certainly, he could show great sympathy and kindness. There is no doubt that he had a delightfully engaging, and often self-deprecating, sense of humour.

"It is quite clear that his mind held together both speculation and common sense. Moreover, nobody would ever doubt his loyalty and deep devotion to our Queen and to their family."

The Queen and Prince Philip, pictured in 2020, were married in November 1947


He told the congregation the duke was "practical" and "devoted his astonishing intellectual and physical energy, his enormous capacity for sheer hard work, to a host of down-to-earth enterprises".

"These included the equipping of young people to face tomorrow's challenges, the encouragement of respect and care for the natural order, and his pioneering work in facilitating conversation between representatives of the different world faiths," he said.

He also pointed out that the duke could be "abrupt" and sometimes "forget just how intimidating he could be".

"A kind of natural reserve sometimes made him seem a little distant. He could be somewhat sharp in pricking what he thought to be bubbles of pomposity or sycophancy.

"On the other hand, we should not forget that he himself was sometimes wounded by being unfairly criticised or misunderstood.


A long life lived fully

This thanksgiving service brought together the strands of Prince Philip's life: his wife of 73 years, his family, his charities, his military connections, his sense of public duty.

But in his sermon, the Dean of Windsor, David Conner, said Prince Philip would have hated to have been remembered as a "plaster saint".

He described a real-life man, full of energy and ideas, but who had no patience for pomposity or flattery.

There was also attention on the real-life frailties of the Queen, who walked to her seat as the first hymn had started.

She sat in the same church where she was married to Prince Philip, stick at her side, with four generations of her family present and decades of memories.

Prince Andrew, making his own reappearance at a public event, had helped her to walk into the abbey.

It was an historic setting for an historic occasion, with prayers for a "long life lived fully".

With the abbey bells ringing, a choir singing and crowds in the streets outside, this was something of the bigger funeral that Covid prevented last year.

The Queen and Prince Philip had been married for 73 years and in her Christmas message the Queen spoke in unusually personal terms about the loss of her "beloved" Philip.

The flowers on display at the memorial service included orchids, a reference to the orchids in the Queen's wedding bouquet. She and Prince Philip were married in 1947 at Westminster Abbey.

The Queen and Prince Philip on honeymoon in 1947

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh with Prince Charles and Princess Anne as children in 1951


Representatives of some of the 700 charitable organisations that he supported were present, ranging from the Outward Bound Trust and Voluntary Services Overseas to the Caravan and Motorhome Club.

Many of his charities had a focus on inspiring young people and giving them wider opportunities. There was also an emphasis on conservation and protecting the environment.

Prince Philip's love of the sea and his links with the Armed Forces were heard during the service in the music of the Royal Marines band, which concluded with a piece called The Seafarers.

The Queen, Duchess of Cornwall and Princess Royal all wore dark green for the service - a similar shade to Edinburgh Green, the duke's livery colour.


Watch: Service of remembrance to honour Prince Philip


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Economy Stalls as Reeves Faces First Budget Test
UK Economy’s Weak Start Adds Pressure on Prime Minister Starmer
UK Government Acknowledges Billionaire Exodus Amid Tax Rise Concerns
UK Budget 2025: Markets Brace as Chancellor Faces Fiscal Tightrope
UK Unveils Strategic Plan to Secure Critical Mineral Supply Chains
UK Taskforce Calls for Radical Reset of Nuclear Regulation to Cut Costs and Accelerate Build
UK Government Launches Consultation on Major Overhaul of Settlement Rules
Google Struggles to Meet AI Demand as Infrastructure, Energy and Supply-Chain Gaps Deepen
Car Parts Leader Warns Europe Faces Heavy Job Losses in ‘Darwinian’ Auto Shake-Out
Arsenal Move Six Points Clear After Eze’s Historic Hat-Trick in Derby Rout
Wealthy New Yorkers Weigh Second Homes as the ‘Mamdani Effect’ Ripples Through Luxury Markets
Families Accuse OpenAI of Enabling ‘AI-Driven Delusions’ After Multiple Suicides
UK Unveils Critical-Minerals Strategy to Break China Supply-Chain Grip
Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” Extends U.K. No. 1 Run to Five Weeks
UK VPN Sign-Ups Surge by Over 1,400 % as Age-Verification Law Takes Effect
Former MEP Nathan Gill Jailed for Over Ten Years After Taking Pro-Russia Bribes
Majority of UK Entrepreneurs Regard Government as ‘Anti-Business’, Survey Shows
UK’s Starmer and US President Trump Align as Geneva Talks Probe Ukraine Peace Plan
UK Prime Minister Signals Former Prince Andrew Should Testify to US Epstein Inquiry
Royal Navy Deploys HMS Severn to Shadow Russian Corvette and Tanker Off UK Coast
China’s Wedding Boom: Nightclubs, Mountains and a Demographic Reset
Fugees Founding Member Pras Michel Sentenced to 14 Years in High-Profile US Foreign Influence Case
WhatsApp’s Unexpected Rise Reshapes American Messaging Habits
United States: Judge Dressed Up as Elvis During Hearings – and Was Forced to Resign
Johnson Blasts ‘Incoherent’ Covid Inquiry Findings Amid Report’s Harsh Critique of His Government
Lord Rothermere Secures £500 Million Deal to Acquire Telegraph Titles
Maduro Tightens Security Measures as U.S. Strike Threat Intensifies
U.S. Envoys Deliver Ultimatum to Ukraine: Sign Peace Deal by Thursday or Risk Losing American Support
Zelenskyy Signals Progress Toward Ending the War: ‘One of the Hardest Moments in History’ (end of his business model?)
U.S. Issues Alert Declaring Venezuelan Airspace a Hazard Due to Escalating Security Conditions
The U.S. State Department Announces That Mass Migration Constitutes an Existential Threat to Western Civilization and Undermines the Stability of Key American Allies
Students Challenge AI-Driven Teaching at University of Staffordshire
Pikeville Medical Center Partners with UK’s Golisano Children’s Network to Expand Pediatric Care
Germany, France and UK Confirm Full Support for Ukraine in US-Backed Security Plan
UK Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods Face Rising Backlash as Pandemic Schemes Unravel
UK Records Coldest Night of Autumn as Sub-Zero Conditions Sweep the Country
UK at Risk of Losing International Doctors as Workforce Exodus Grows, Regulator Warns
ASU Launches ASU London, Extending Its Innovation Brand to the UK Education Market
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Visit China in January as Diplomatic Reset Accelerates
Google Launches Voluntary Buyouts for UK Staff Amid AI-Driven Company Realignment
UK braces for freezing snap as snow and ice warnings escalate
Majority of UK Novelists Fear AI Could Displace Their Work, Cambridge Study Finds
UK's Carrier Strike Group Achieves Full Operational Capability During NATO Drill in Mediterranean
Trump and Mamdani to Meet at the White House: “The Communist Asked”
Nvidia Again Beats Forecasts, Shares Jump in After-Hours Trading
Wintry Conditions Persist Along UK Coasts After Up to Seven Centimetres of Snow
UK Inflation Eases to 3.6 % in October, Opening Door for Rate Cut
UK Accelerates Munitions Factory Build-Out to Reinforce Warfighting Readiness
UK Consumer Optimism Plunges Ahead of November Budget
A Decade of Innovation Stagnation at Apple: The Cook Era Critique
×