How to watch Prince Philip's funeral today – the TV channels and radio stations with live coverage
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the Queen's husband for more than 70 years, died on April 9, aged 99.
For a man who came of age during the Second World War, his passing marked an end of an era – for Britain, for the monarchy and, of course, for his family.
Flags flew at half-mast, tributes arrived from leaders around the world, and TV and radio schedules changed as the nation entered eight days of mourning.
This period of reflection will culminate with the Duke's funeral at 3pm today in St George's Chapel, Windsor.
What TV channel will air Prince Philip's funeral live?
The Duke's funeral will be broadcast across radio and TV on the BBC today and The Telegraph will be livestreaming it here.
Huw Edwards will lead the BBC's live coverage of the events at Windsor from 12:30pm and at 8:10pm he will reflect on the day. He will be joined by broadcaster Sophie Raworth and TV presenter and former Royal Marine JJ Chalmers throughout the afternoon. The BBC will re-broadcast the funeral at 8.10pm.
ITV will also show the funeral from 1.15pm, presented by Tom Bradby and Julie Etchingham from Windsor, with schedules returning to normal from 4.30pm.
Sky News will also have dedicated live coverage of the funeral from 12.30pm to 5pm from Windsor the entire day, featuring breakfast with Jayne Secker, mid-morning Sarah Hewson, special coverage by Dermot Murnaghan and Mark Austin from 5pm and Anna Botting into the evening. This will be available on Freeview and streamed live on Youtube.
Which radio stations will cover the funeral tomorrow?
On radio, it will be similar picture: There will be coverage of the funeral today from 2pm to 4.10pm on Radio 4 and Radio 5 Live, as well as on the BBC's local stations.
Are TV shows cancelled?
Several popular programmes, including Apr 9th's MasterChef 2021 final, were reshuffled as the BBC aired tribute shows to the Duke. But none has been cancelled, just moved – for example the MasterChef final aired later, on April 14.
On ITV, there will no news, Scottish Grand National coverage or You've Been Framed!. Instead, ITV will show coverage of the funeral from 1.15pm, with normal programming resuming from 4.30pm. The Scottish Grand National will now be broadcast at 12.45pm on Sunday.
In other sport news, F1 has confirmed it will move the Imola qualifying race and practice laps to one hour earlier to avoid a clash with the funeral. Qualifying will now start at 2pm local time.
And the FA has said that no football matches will be scheduled between 2.45pm and 4.15pm. Likewise, no county cricket matches will go ahead between 2.50pm and 4.10pm.
What will happen during the funeral?
In line with his wishes, Prince Philip will not receive a state funeral. Instead, his send-off will be a relatively private, ceremonial affair – and limited to a congregation of 30, in line with Covid-19 restrictions. Before the funeral, his body will not lie in state in Westminster Abbey, but rather in Windsor Castle's private chapel.
The event will begin at 2.40pm. The Duke's coffin, draped with his personal flag, which celebrates his British titles and Greek heritage, will be loaded on to a specially modified Land Rover. His naval cap, officer's sword and a wreath of flowers will also be placed on the coffin. At 2.45pm, the Procession steps off from the State Entrance and the processional route is planned to take eight minutes.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "The ceremonial arrangements are a reflection of The Duke's military affiliations and personal elements of His Royal Highness's life."
The Land Rover will then proceed from Windsor Castle's private chapel to St George's Chapel, where the coffin will be met by the Dean of Windsor and the Archbishop of Canterbury, who will conduct the service, beginning with a national minute's silence at 3pm. (Though Channel 4 will have a minute's silence at 2.55pm.)
Here's everything we know about Prince Philip's funeral, from who's invited to how Covid will affect the plans.
What happens next?
After the Duke's funeral, political campaigning will resume. It was paused on the day the Duke's death was announced, and will be again on the day of his funeral. Parliament will also resume normal business – throughout the nation's eight days of mourning, no new laws could be announced, and any ministerial appearances had to be limited to tributes to the Duke and public health messages.
TV and radio schedules will also begin to return to normal. On Apr 9, after the Duke's death was confirmed, many broadcasters shifted their schedules, with the BBC entirely pausing its usual programmes to run back-to-back tributes to the Duke. This coverage led to the highest number of complaints ever published in the UK about television programming, leading to a special form that was set up on the BBC website to deal with them. Broadcasters, no doubt, will have learnt from this experience and will try to balance funeral coverage and tributes with regular programming.
Meanwhile, the public have been urged not to gather along the route of the funeral and avoid leaving flowers and tributes at Royal residences. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "There will be nothing to see from outside the grounds and as such we would echo the advice from the local authority and police in encouraging members of the public to stay at home and follow the event on television or radio."
Instead, an online book of condolence has been set up – and wellwishers are asked to consider donating to a charity rather than buying a floral tribute.
And the Royal family will return to their duties, no doubt reflecting on and missing the man whose loss, the Queen said, has "left a huge void in her life".
