Princess Anne the only female behind the hearse

[jeanne16]

While the funeral was beautiful, I couldn’t help feeling annoyed that Princess Anne was the only female to walk behind the hearse. Surely all the grandchildren could have been included. Instead we see Beatrice, Eugenie and Zara tottering along on high heels. It would have been so much better to see them take an equal place with the men.

Maybe it’s because the Queen chose who she wanted to walk behind her husband just as she told them all that none were to wear their military uniforms. And because all of them have the utmost respect for her.

Yes 2 of them have just had babies Zara only a couple weeks ago which would just be unfair on top of everything to make them walk all that way.

P P's wishes - surely at the very last it's not for us to criticize his choices.

Someone upthread commented on Prince Michael of Kent not attending - I read that this was because he is not a working royal, whereas the Dukes of Kent and Gloucester and Princess Alexandra are working royals so they got invited over Prince Michael. Don’t know if that’s true but it sounds logical.

Well Zara and Eugenia not long have given birth plus perhaps they didn’t want to. Or perhaps not matter what happened people would choose to find fault... equally if we are going to make it about equality phrases like “tottering along in high heels” do nothing to further it. Equality is about people having the right to choose. Your attempt at virtue signalling is undone by a dig at another woman’s attire.

The Duke of Edinburgh left specific instructions about his funeral, so it's nothing to do with equality and all to do with his final wishes being upheld.

@fiftiesmum

A lot of funerals tend to be male orientated - in our extended family only the men (and boys) are pall bearers even though the coffin is brought in on a specially designed trolley so there is no real muscle power needed.

My family too, but the coffins are actually carried. I'm a feminist, but it's a job I'd be pretty scared of. The worry of dropping it is awful. There's a thread on MN already about men-only funerals with people testifying to them happening quite recently.

Peter was probably included to keep the peace between William and Harry

Oh this is utter nonsense. Whatever has gone on between them more recently, they are two men who have been raised mired in tradition and duty both in the family and the military. Do people honestly believe that on such a public, solemn occasion, these two grown men needed another grown man between them to stop them throwing down with a punch up on the grass? Ridiculous.

Although most of the women ended up walking back up the hill when they waved the cars away after the service

I felt really sorry for them. That hill is a killer, I can’t imagine doing it in heels. Whoever was first waved the car away, then the second person did. I can imagine being fourth or fifth back and thinking “well if everyone else is walking, I can’t take a car” then getting a third of the way up and really regretting it!

I'm a feminist, but it's a job I'd be pretty scared of.

For me it’s a height thing. At 5ft I’d be useless at it unless everyone else was the same height.

Right?! This shocked and annoyed me too. Three male grandchildren walk behind the coffin, zero female grandchildren.

Not because they are the oldest three - Zara is older than both William and Harry. Not because they are higher up the line of succession - Beatrice and Eugenie are higher up than Peter. Not because they can't walk that far (Zara was an Olympic athlete, for God's sake. I'm pretty sure she could stagger across the grounds of Windsor Castle.) It's because Peter is a man, and someone decided it would look "right" for a phalanx of men to follow the casket. And I guess they thought Princess Anne might as well be one - she has spent her lifetime being the exception to the rules on gender roles.

I do not believe for a second Peter was there because William and Harry did not want to walk together. Neither of them is as self-absorbed or immature as that.

I doubt William and Harry wanted to follow the casket anyway, after the scarring experience of following their mother's. They should have had the non-royal family members arrive first, then the spouses children and grandchildren of every gender, along with the underage grandchildren. Then the Queen. Then the casket procession with the children and adult grandchildren in age order walking behind.

And as a single-adult household the Queen can form a support bubble with another household. So Camilla and Charles could have sat with her instead of leaving her all alone there. Or Edward and his family.

Also disliked the Land Rover hearse. (You had a special car made for your funeral? To drive you 200 meters instead of letting soldiers carry you? He "designed it" himself? You mean he said "Chop the roof off the back and load me on the bed of my old Land Rover when I die"?)

And the way commentators were so focused on whether Harry and William were or were not speaking was so gossipy and disrespectful of the occasion.

And as a single-adult household the Queen can form a support bubble with another household.

She isn’t a single adult household. There is a small team of support staff living at Windsor with her.

If it’s your funeral you can have what you like . He paid for the land rover , also you have no idea why the female grandchildren didn’t walk , quite possibly they could have if they really wanted to. It’s not the first time William and Harry have walked behind a coffin since their mother’s death , they walked at the Queen mothers funeral , as did Princess Anne by the way .

@Peregrina

... as was done with the Queen/Prince Philip where an Act was passed so that Prince Philip would have been Regent until Charles turned 18 ....

Is that correct? Back in 1953 the age of majority was 21.

I wonder whether we will see the landrover hearse again? No worse than a gun carriage IMO>

Suffrage has never been deliberately matched to the age for becoming Sovereign - they're two separate things, one of which didn't even exist as a concept at some earlier point, as there was no voting.

Does it really matter? The D of E planned pretty much the entire thing, discussions were had and that’s what happened. I don’t know why it’s anything to do with randomers to pass judgment on this.

They should have had the non-royal family members arrive first, then the spouses children and grandchildren of every gender, along with the underage grandchildren. Then the Queen. Then the casket procession with the children and adult grandchildren in age order walking behind

You should have sent them your instructions. I’m sure they’d have appreciated your superior knowledge of Royal funeral etiquette.

This shocked and annoyed me too.

You're "shocked and annoyed" at the personal wishes that someone had for their own funeral? Unless you are Zara, Beatrice or Eugenie you should get a grip. Plus, you're easily shocked.

And as a single-adult household the Queen can form a support bubble with another household. So Camilla and Charles could have sat with her instead of leaving her all alone there. Or Edward and his family

She isn’t a single adult household. She has a ‘bubble’ of staff, and therefore cannot form a support bubble. This has been explained in the press numerous times.

This shocked and annoyed me
Are you always shocked and annoyed though?

@Localocal good for you if you were running marathons 3 weeks post-partum. Do you need to be told that all women are different? Because they are.
But how dare Zara not do what you want!

@TheOneWithTheBigNose

And as a single-adult household the Queen can form a support bubble with another household. So Camilla and Charles could have sat with her instead of leaving her all alone there. Or Edward and his family

She isn’t a single adult household. She has a ‘bubble’ of staff, and therefore cannot form a support bubble. This has been explained in the press numerous times.

She would actually count as a single person household. Staff don’t count so people who have home helps, cleaners etc can still have a family support bubble.

When Philip was in hospital she was expected to form a bubble with the Wessexes, but it was said to be seen as too risky when Viscount Severn returned to school.

Also disliked the Land Rover hearse. (You had a special car made for your funeral? To drive you 200 meters instead of letting soldiers carry you?

@Localocal The procession was meant to be considerably larger. Both in terms of the number of people involved and the distance. It was never designed to just be in the castle grounds, that was part of the covid related tweaks.

@SenecaFallsRedux

If Victoria had been under 18, the law at that time would have made her mother the Duchess of Kent regent. Supposedly it's one of the reasons that her uncle William IV held on as long as he did. He was not a fan of the Duchess.

If the films are anything to go by, the problem was her mother's scheming lover.

@MintyMabel

I'm a feminist, but it's a job I'd be pretty scared of.

For me it’s a height thing. At 5ft I’d be useless at it unless everyone else was the same height.

I'm short as well. Another excuse not to have to do it then.

Probably what Prince Philip wanted. I read he planned a lot of it himself. It was only males walking behind Princess Diana's coffin when she died.

I thought teetering high heels had become a thing of the past during lockdown. I thought the young women among the royal mourners were all very appropriately dressed except for their feet! Why wear suitable sombre black clothes with shoes more suitable for a night clubbing. Eugenie had to cling to the rail as she tried to negotiate the steps inside the church when they were all leaving. Just, why??

Maybe they had a say in what they did?