Queen Elizabeth II Leads Royal Family in Final Farewell to Prince Philip

The world is preparing to say goodbye to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who passed away last Friday at the age of 99.

Tomorrow, the Queen will lead the Royal Family in paying their final respects to her “strength and stay” during a family service in Windsor, which will be watched by millions around the world.

As the moment of farewell approaches, the 94-year-old monarch is said to be bearing up well.

Today, she personally signed off on the final preparations for her husband's funeral tomorrow and ordered that Prince William and Prince Harry not walk shoulder to shoulder behind their grandfather's coffin when he is laid to rest.

According to Mail Online, the two brothers will pay homage to the late Duke of Edinburgh by walking behind his coffin during an eight-minute procession from Windsor Castle, echoing the funeral of their late mother Princess Diana in 1997.

However, they will not be shoulder to shoulder but separated by their cousin, Peter Philip, the Queen and Philip's oldest grandson.

The Queen will be at the rear of the procession in the Royal Bentley and will have a moment of quiet reflection when her car draws up behind the coffin at the state entrance to the castle and pauses for a moment.

When the coffin, borne on a Land Rover, is carried into St George's Chapel in Windsor, William will move ahead of his younger brother as they take their seats separately amongst the 30 guests.

The Queen will sit alone due to the restrictions imposed on the paired-back funeral due to Covid.

Despite the rift between her grandsons, the Queen is bearing up well with 24 hours to go until her beloved husband's funeral.

An insider told Mail Online, “Funeral preparations are going on today, and she is in control.”

The Queen will confirm her outfit for tomorrow this afternoon with her long-standing confidant and dresser, Angela Kelly.

She will also be having a haircut, the source said.

The news about the positive signals of the Queen's spirit comes after the Archbishop of Canterbury urged the public to support the Queen during the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral.

The Most Reverend Justin Welby said people should not judge the monarch on her external appearance at the service, adding it would be an anguished moment for her.

Speaking to the BBC on Friday, he said, “We really have to avoid judging from anything external.

She is the Queen.

She will behave with the extraordinary dignity and extraordinary courage that she always does.”

Due to coronavirus restrictions, only 30 guests will attend the funeral, and social distancing rules mean the Queen will sit alone.

Mr Welby, who will give a blessing during the service at St George's Chapel in Windsor, said people of all faiths should show sympathy to the Queen after losing her husband of seven decades.

“She is saying farewell to someone to whom she was married for 73 years.

I think that must be a very profound thing in anybody's life, and I hope the whole nation, if they believe in that, they pray for her, and if they don't, they sympathise in their hearts, offer their condolences to her, and they hope for her to find strength in what must be an anguished moment.”

As the world mourns the loss of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, tomorrow's funeral will be a poignant moment for the Royal Family and millions around the globe.