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Royal Family Holds Smaller, Intimate Funeral For Prince Philip Amid Pandemic

DEBBIE ELLIOTT, HOST:

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II, was laid to rest today outside of London. A small congregation of family members and close friends were in attendance, all masked and socially distanced, as reporter Willem Marx reports.

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WILLEM MARX, BYLINE: From Windsor Castle's ceremonial gate, the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin was carried downhill to St. George's Chapel, accompanied by gun salutes...

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MARX: ...Military personnel, bright spring sunshine and the ringing of bells.

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MARX: His four children and three of his grandsons walked behind his personalized hearse, a dark-green Land Rover he designed. As they neared the chapel's main staircase, the band of the Grenadier Guards regiment struck up the British National Anthem, a song wishing long life for Philip's 94-year-old widow Queen Elizabeth. Dressed all in black, she paused briefly to watch the procession before she entered, followed by a cluster of her sons, wives, grandchildren and grandchildren-in-law.

Eight pallbearers pulled the coffin up steep steps to the chapel entrance and halted as the U.K. observed a minute's silence. The formal funeral service then began with an 18th-century hymn selected by the late duke.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing unintelligibly).

ELLIOTT: The dean of Windsor welcomed the small congregation of 30.

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DAVID CONNER: We have been inspired by his unwavering loyalty to our queen, by his service to the nation and the Commonwealth, by his courage, fortitude and faith.

MARX: And the tiny choir of four singers reminded them of the duke's wartime naval service.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED SINGER: (Singing) Oh, hear us when we cry...

MARX: With Elizabeth's head bowed for much of the service, the Archbishop of Canterbury led the blessing before Philip was interred in the royal vault beneath. For NPR News, I'm Willem Marx in London. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.