Crowds today gathered to watch as members of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery rode to Windsor Castle in preparation for the Duke of Edinburgh‘s funeral.
Dozens of riders carrying three guns rode along the Long Walk up to Cambridge Gate where tributes to Prince Philip have been laid following news of the Duke’s death last Friday.
His funeral will take place at St George’s Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle at 3pm on Saturday. It is understood a reduced guest list will be in attendance due to Covid-19 restrictions which limit numbers to 30.
Members of the King’s Troop – a ceremonial unit of the British Army – will fire minute guns from the east lawn of Windsor Castle as the Duke’s coffin is taken from the castle to St George’s Chapel.
Photographs captured soldiers from the Household Division Foot Guards Regimental Band marching outside Windsor Castle
Members of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment ride their horses into the grounds of Windsor Castle in Windsor, west of London, on April 15
Members of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, flanked by police officers, ride their horses outside Windsor Castle, after Britain’s Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth, died at the age of 99
Prince Philip’s funeral will take place at St George’s Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle at 3pm on Saturday. It is expected a reduced guest list will be in attendance due to Covid-19 restrictions which limit numbers to 30
The guns will fire for the duration of the procession, and the Curfew Tower Bell will toll.
Scores of Britons, some sitting with picnic lunches, watched on today as the riders rehearsed for Saturday’s procession.
They began at Combermere Barracks and entered the Long Walk from Albert Road, with photographs also capturing soldiers from the Household Division Foot Guards Regimental Band marching outside Windsor Castle.
Members of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment were later pictured on horseback near to the Berkshire palace as they rehearsed for the procession, which will be televised live on BBC One from 12.30pm on Saturday.
Elsewhere today, sailors and Royal Marines were seen standing at attention as they took part in rehearsals for the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh at HMS Collingwood in Fareham.
Sailors and Royal Marines during rehearsals for the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh at HMS Collingwood in Fareham today
Sailors stand to attention as they take part in rehearsals for the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, which will take place on Saturday
Soldiers in ceremonial dress arrive at Windsor Castle, after Britain’s Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth, died at the age of 99
Members of The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery rehearse on the Long Walk in front of Windsor Castle today
Military on horseback inside the gates of Windsor Castle during rehearsal preparations are seen taking place ahead of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh funeral
A full military procession and members of the Royal Family will accompany Prince Philip’s coffin as it makes his final journey from Windsor Castle to St George’s Chapel.
Details of the invited guests are yet to be announced but it is expected that the majority of the reduced guest list will be members of the royal family. Prince Harry will be among those to attend but Meghan Markle will not travel from the US due to medical advice about her pregnancy.
The Armed Forces have been stepping up preparations for the duke’s funeral which will feature servicemen and women from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and RAF – alongside top military brass.
Soldiers in ceremonial dress arrive at Windsor Castle as rehearsals for the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral took place today
Military on horseback make their way up The Long Walk towards Windsor Castle during rehearsal’s for Prince Philip’s funeral
Members of the public watch as the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery move up the Long Walk, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, during a rehearsal for the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh
The Duke’s funeral will take place at St George’s Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle at 3pm on Saturday. It is understood a reduced guest list will be in attendance due to Covid-19 restrictions which limit numbers to 30
Soldiers from the Corps of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) are reportedly working to prepare the special Land Rover – that the duke helped design – which will carry his coffin on Saturday.
Lieutenant General Paul Jaques, who served with REME, said about the duke, his unit’s former colonel-in-chief: ‘He was engaged with us and used to visit us probably once or twice every single year since 1969.
‘And he had an enormous passion for all things engineering. In his own words ‘If it wasn’t invented by God, it was invented by an engineer’.
