Walking behind Prince Philip's coffin will be 'difficult' for William and Harry'

A royal expert has claimed that walking behind Prince Philip’s coffin will bring back ‘difficult memories’ for Prince William and Harry of ‘losing their mother’.

The Duke of Cambridge, 38, and the Duke of Sussex, 36, will reunite to walk behind their grandfather’s coffin with their father Prince Charles as part of a procession at his funeral in Windsor on Saturday. 

Speaking to FEMAIL, royal expert Penny Junor explained the funeral will bring back ‘difficult memories’ of Princess Diana’s funeral for William, Harry and Charles.

Following Princess Diana’s death, William and Harry walked behind her coffin alongside Prince Charles, Prince Philip and Earl Spencer as it made its way to Westminster Abbey.

Walking behind Prince Philip’s coffin will bring back ‘memories’ for William and Harry of ‘losing their mother’, a royal expert claimed (above, with Charles and Earl Spencer at Diana’s funeral)

According to Penny Junor, the funeral will bring back ‘difficult memories’ for the brothers (pictured with the Duke of Edinburgh in 2015) of their mother’s funeral in 1997

She told FEMAIL: ‘This is likely to be a very emotional and reflective time for the entire family.

‘I am sure that walking behind their grandfather’s coffin will bring back difficult memories for William and Harry of losing their mother. It will probably bring back difficult memories for their father, too. 

‘And I am sure it won’t be lost on any of them that the last time they walked behind a coffin, the Duke of Edinburgh was there walking with them and giving them all the courage they needed to get through the day.’ 

The Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, which he planned himself, will be televised around the world on Saturday.

Prince Harry and Prince William, who both paid tribute to their grandfather yesterday, are expected to stand shoulder to shoulder as they form part of the royal procession at the service. 

Prince Philip’s coffin will be placed on to a specially modified Land Rover, which Philip helped to design, to transport it to its final resting place at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

The vehicle will process slowly through the grounds of Windsor Castle ahead of the funeral, draped in his personal standard, a wreath of flowers and his naval cap and sword. 

William, 38, and Harry, 36, will reunite for the first time since Harry’s Oprah interview for their grandfather’s funeral on Saturday, where they are set to form part of the royal procession

The procession from the State Entrance of Windsor Castle to the chapel will take eight minutes and members of the royal family will take part in the procession on foot, immediately behind the duke’s coffin, with six staff members from Philip’s household.

The route of the procession will be lined by representatives drawn from the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the Highlanders, 4th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland and the Royal Air Force.

A bearing party of Royal Marines will carry the coffin up the chapel’s steps and pause for a minute’s silence, before the Dean of Windsor, together with the Archbishop of Canterbury, will receive the coffin at the top of the West Steps. 

In keeping with Covid-19 guidelines to limit guests inside the chapel, most of the procession will not enter the chapel for the funeral, except for members of the royal family, and the duke’s private secretary Archie Miller Bakewell.

Only around 30 relatives are expected to attend the family funeral at St George’s Chapel, stripped back due to Britain’s ongoing lockdown. Britons are being warned to stay at home and watch on TV to avoid spreading coronavirus.

Philip’s coffin was in Her Majesty’s private chapel of worship at their Berkshire home before being moved to the nearby Albert Memorial Chapel, where he will rest during seven days of national mourning ahead of his scaled-back funeral this weekend.