London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jul 14, 2025

Relief as Queen makes it to the abbey for memorial

Relief as Queen makes it to the abbey for memorial

The Queen made it. As the first hymn began with "He who would valiant be 'gainst all disaster" she appeared and took her place.

Westminster Abbey, which has seen centuries of dramas, felt a collective sigh of relief.

Stick in hand, the 95-year-old monarch was sticking at it.

Even on the morning of this service of thanksgiving for Prince Philip, there had been a nervous delay in confirming she would be well enough to attend.

But the "mobility issues" - a phrase both specific and vague - had been sufficiently overcome.

And word that she had definitely left Windsor for Westminster had gone round those waiting outside like the ripple of camera shutters.

'Beloved' Philip


The service itself was a celebration of the prince's decades of public service.

As the Queen has been the longest-serving monarch, so he was the longest-serving consort, her "beloved" Philip.

Four generations of the Royal Family attended the Westminster Abbey service


But despite the pomp, it wasn't a pompous occasion.

And Dean of Windsor the Very Rev David Conner used his sermon to puncture any idea of the prince as a "plaster saint".

"He was part of flawed humanity," Dean Conner said, with the "usual human foibles and failings".

He had been energetic, sympathetic, full of ideas, with a self-deprecating humour.

"Yet, there were times when he could be abrupt - maybe, in robust conversation, forgetting just how intimidating he could be," the dean told the congregation.

"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."

Day trippers


The prince would have approved of much of this service - not least because he had a hand in planning it, for what was expected to be his funeral.

Doyin Sonibare spoke to the Queen at the end of service


But as for many families, the pandemic put limits on his funeral, last year.

So a year later, the congregation was singing Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer and hearing Benjamin Britten's Te Deum in C.

It was a congregation that mapped his interests. There were representatives of charities, sports organisations and the armed services.

European royalty had arrived together in a couple of coaches, looking like upmarket day trippers.

The Queen stood with her family - four generations of royals - wearing a brooch the prince had given her more than 50 years ago.

She had been wearing it when they had photographs taken for their 70th wedding anniversary.

And she had stood in the same church when they married, both in their 20s, in 1947, in a London still pitted with wartime bombsites.

They had also been there for her father's funeral and then her own coronation.

There must have been a long lifetime of memories.

Tributes were paid to the prince's life of public service


This service also saw the the Duke of York's first appearance since he settled the civil court case brought against him in the United States.

But he did not have to face the crowds outside.

Helping the Queen into the abbey, Prince Andrew arrived with her through a side entrance, walking up the checkerboard tiles of the aisle.

And he was there to help her out at the end of the service, when they stopped to talk to Doyin Sonibare, who had spoken about how the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme had helped open opportunities for her.

Ms Sonibare, now studying for a PhD researching sickle cell disease, said the Queen had thanked her for her speech and asked her about the award scheme.

It was a day she would tell her children and grandchildren about, Ms Sonibare added.

The Queen and the prince on honeymoon, in 1947


Funerals and memorials are milestones for every family - but for the royals, their private lives are lived in public.

As the service ended, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall went through the main doors at the back of the abbey and into their waiting car.

He looked out the window as it swung away, having to wave to the crowds as he left his father's memorial service.

Prince Philip had been a "man of rare ability and distinction", Dean of Westminster the Very Rev David Hoyle said.

His had been a "long life lived fully".

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
×