Here’s If the Queen Still Plans to Attend Philip’s Memorial Service Amid Her Health Struggles
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Ever since her hospitalization, fans have wondered what Queen Elizabeth’s Prince Philip memorial plans are looking like today. Is she still planning to attend her late husband’s service?
According to a source who spoke to Newsweek on March 24, 2022, the 95-year-old monarch definitely “hopes” to attend the service, which is set to take place at Westminster Abbey on March 29, 2022. While there’s no official word yet on whether the Queen will be in attendance, Buckingham Palace officials confirmed in a statement that members of the royal family will be present at the event in honor of the late Duke of Edinburgh, who passed away in April 2021 at the age of 99.
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“Members of the Royal Family will attend a Service of Thanksgiving for the life of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey on Tuesday, 29th March,” their palace statement read. “The Service will give thanks for The Duke of Edinburgh’s dedication to family, Nation and Commonwealth and recognise the importance of his legacy in creating opportunities for young people, promoting environmental stewardship and conservation, and supporting the Armed Forces.”
The palace statement continued, “The Service will in particular pay tribute to The Duke of Edinburgh’s contribution to public life and steadfast support for the over 700 charitable organisations with which His Royal Highness was associated throughout his life,” concluding, “Alongside the Royal Family, Members of Foreign Royal Families and The Duke of Edinburgh’s wider family and friends, the congregation will include over 500 representatives of The Duke of Edinburgh’s patronages and charities, reflecting the breadth of causes and charitable interests championed by His Royal Highness, and as a tribute to those who continue his work.”
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Should the Queen attend Prince Philip’s memorial, it would mark her first royal outing outside of a royal residence since being hospitalized in October 2021. At the time, the palace provided no further details on the nature of her condition. Four months later, the monarch tested positive for COVID-19, prompting her to cancel a string of planned royal engagements as she recovered.
While the jury’s still out on whether her majesty will attend, there’s one royal that has confirmed their absence from the memorial service: Prince Harry. A spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex confirmed on March 11, 2022, that he would not be returning to London to attend the service, per Town & Country.
The decision came after Harry—who lives in Montecito, California, with his wife Meghan Markle and his two kids, Archie Harrison and Lilibet Diana—told the British court via a legal representative in January 2022 that he’ll be “unable” to bring his family back to the United Kingdom unless they receive police protection. He has since launched legal action against the UK’s Home Office, seeking a judicial review of their decision to not allow his family to hire private protection when they’re in the UK.
“Prince Harry inherited a security risk at birth, for life. He remains sixth in line to the throne, served two tours of combat duty in Afghanistan, and in recent years his family has been subjected to well-documented neo-Nazi and extremist threats,” read a January 2022 statement from the duke’s legal team. “While his role within the Institution has changed, his profile as a member of the royal family has not. Nor has the threat to him and his family.”
The statement went on to note that while Harry and Meghan pay for their own security team in the U.S., they “cannot replicate the necessary protection needed whilst in the U.K.” without the British government’s permission. “In absence of such protection, Prince Harry and his family are unable to return home.”
Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch
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For more about the British royal family, check out Sally Bedell Smith’s 2012 biography, Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch. The New York Times bestseller, which includes the “real story” behind several storylines featured in Netflix’s The Crown, follows Queen Elizabeth II’s life from her childhood as the “heiress presumptive” to her father, King George VI; to the moment he et her husband, Prince Philip, when she was 13 years old; to her ascension to the throne at 25 years old in 1952. Elizabeth the Queen, which also includes interviews with Buckingham Palace sources and never-before-revealed documents, provides a deep dive into the Queen’s legacy as one of the most famous monarchs in recent history.
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