HRH The Prince Philip Funeral

[IamnotH]

Watching on BBC 1. Wish Huw would shut up and let us listen to the bands/watch them March.

@Loveistheonlyway

I can't get over how perfect the weather was too. The whole day was just total perfection.

The weather was gorgeous wasn’t it!

I think it was the perfect send-off. Glorious weather to make the very sombre affair more uplifting (can you imagine it having taken place in heavy rain :-(?), a very poignant service and the added touches such the ponies, carriage and personal effects on the carriage seat (the sugar lumps in such a simple pot!). I cried throughout but 'I vow to thee my country' (my favourite hymn) set me off.

Glad that the Queen wore a wide-brimmed hat so she could shed the odd tear during the service without it being caught on camera.

I think it will be King William and Queen Catherine. I can't see King William any Queen Consort Catherine went to X engagement today.

Catherine will be 'the Queen', just as the Queen Mother was 'the Queen' during the King's lifetime. But she will be the consort, not queen in her own right.(And perhaps then the press will finally stop referring to her as 'Kate Middleton ')

Who was consolling Anne's eldest son when they were walking away from the church. I don't think it was Anne's husband.

Beakind I think it was Lord Snowdon, Princess Margaret's son. Peter looked very upset. I know him slightly, and he was very close to his grandparents.

@mosgirl

Beakind I think it was Lord Snowdon, Princess Margaret's son. Peter looked very upset. I know him slightly, and he was very close to his grandparents.

Ah, thanks. I was wondering, he was trallu struggling :-(

Ps. I forgot his name for a moment. Of course it's Peter.

@Beakind82

Who was consolling Anne's eldest son when they were walking away from the church. I don't think it was Anne's husband.

I think it was the Earl of Snowdon, Princess Margaret's son.

Sorry, xpost.

She's a stoic and I doubt very much that she wanted to cling sobbing to Andrew or have Sophie clutch her hand. In private or in public

This.

It was a 50 minutes. She had her closest family around her, just not in touching distance. I’ve never felt the need to hold someone’s hand at a funeral and I’d wager the Queen is made of tougher stuff than me.

at 99 years of age i dont think there would be much in the way of grief, he was in hospital for a month, that is an extraordinary length of time. it is solemn and what he asked for, he slipped away at the end of his time.

I don't think age or expectation really changes the grief you feel in the moment, especially at a funeral. Several of them clearly were upset, and I imagine the queen will have been too, but she's so used to keeping her feelings to herself in public, and probably didn't show as much as she felt. It's not always just about the person who is gone, either; it brings up feelings about change in general, the emptiness of someone being gone, time passing, your own mortality, memories of other funerals, thoughts of people close to you dying in the future, etc. It's a whole mix of emotions that make up the grief.

@AbsolutelyPatsy Really?
Of course there's grief no matter the age or expectation. Weird post.

@AbsolutelyPatsy

at 99 years of age i dont think there would be much in the way of grief, he was in hospital for a month, that is an extraordinary length of time. it is solemn and what he asked for, he slipped away at the end of his time.

What absolute rot. Grief is grief no matter what the age. My grandmother died at 100, I grieved no less for her than my grandmother who died at 80. What a horrible sentiment.

My FIL died at 97. I was distraught as we were very close.

There was a beautiful moment at the funeral when the vicar said 'Let us pray' and DS aged 6 piped up at ther top of his voice 'Is this where we sing happy Birthday to Granddad?'.

DH's godmother died 2 weeks ago at the age of 99. DH was also distraught.

When people get to this age their loved ones are (generally) not tapping their watches saying 'get on with it and die'. It is still a very real and pertinent loss.

@AbsolutelyPatsy

at 99 years of age i dont think there would be much in the way of grief, he was in hospital for a month, that is an extraordinary length of time. it is solemn and what he asked for, he slipped away at the end of his time.

Don’t be ridiculous. I was upset, and I didn’t know the man. And it was quite obvious that many family members were, understandably, upset. It doesn’t matter that he was 99. It still doesn’t make it any easier to lose a loved one.

When mum died it was sudden and awful (and a few years after dad). She wasn’t young but it was still dreadful (I was in my 30s, mum was 70).

Someone did actually say to me that their grief was going to be far worse than mine when their parents died because they had had them for longer (they were in their 60s with both parents in reasonable health for folks in their 90s!).

Grief doesn’t lessen with age - as dad said, it’s very sad but not a tragedy (as it is when a young person/child dies).

@AbsolutelyPatsy

at 99 years of age i dont think there would be much in the way of grief, he was in hospital for a month, that is an extraordinary length of time. it is solemn and what he asked for, he slipped away at the end of his time.

Both of my nanas died in this past year. They were both in their 90s.

Whilst it may not be totally unexpected due to age of course there is grief and bereavement. You know it's likely to happen in the next few years, sometimes you know it will be in the next month or weeks, but when it happens those left behind of course feel sadness and grief.

at 99 years of age i dont think there would be much in the way of grief

I though Prince Charles crying for his dad who’d passed away one of the saddest parts of the day.

It’s something I’ve never experienced in my life - A family member living to the age Phillip did and his children in their seventies having to mourn him. It was poignant.

yes- sad but not a tragedy. That's what i meant. When a young person dies or a child it is a tragedy because of the years lost. When a 99 year old dies it is still desperatelty sad.

(Actually, I think FIL's death was pretty bad and almost a tragedy as he was put on a DNR without any discussion with the family- and all he had was a broken shoulder from a fall.... he died of renal failure in the end because fluids were kept from him But that is a whole other issue and currently in the hands of our lawyers).

Mum has a DNR that she had lit on there - but they still ‘worked on her’ for a while in the hospital. I’m sure she is haunting them to this day...

Someone did actually say to me that their grief was going to be far worse than mine when their parents died because they had had them for longer (they were in their 60s with both parents in reasonable health for folks in their 90s!).

What a strange thing for someone to say to you.

I was speechless. And that rarely happens!

I feel very sad about Prince Philip and think it may also be a delayed grief from the loss of my own father 16 months ago, which got quickly swept up into supporting my ill elderly mother and then trying to support her as she faced lockdown alone and we were her bubble.
I also feel I’m saying goodbye to a part of my childhood.

I am not denying anyone feeling grief, just saying that at almost 100, and being in hospital for a month, fighting an infection, having open heart surgery, it would have been expected.
you are all free to grieve without any criticism from anyone else. but for Prince Philip it must have been a blessed relief for all concerned. No longer suffering.

'It was a 50 minutes. She had her closest family around her, just not in touching distance. I’ve never felt the need to hold someone’s hand at a funeral and I’d wager the Queen is made of tougher stuff than me.'

Yes so many people online and in the msm trying to paint her as a tragic victim. She had her family there. I wonder why it needed to be filmed at all tbh, the procession and lead up yes but surely once inside they should have been allowed some privacy.