UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson won’t attend Prince Philip’s funeral.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral will take place next Saturday (17.04.21) at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, but a Downing Street spokesperson has confirmed that the Prime Minister won’t be among the attendees.
The spokesperson explained: “The Prime Minister has throughout wanted to act in accordance with what is best for the royal household, and so to allow for as many family members as possible will not be attending the funeral on Saturday.”
The Prime Minister would typically attend the funeral of a senior royal, but plans have been amended because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The 56-year-old politician – who spent time in hospital last year after being diagnosed with the virus – is keen to allow someone who knew the Duke of Edinburgh better to attend.
Despite this, the Prime Minister paid a glowing tribute to Prince Philip after his death was announced.
In particular, he praised Prince Philip’s work as an environmentalist and hailed him for creating The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, a scheme for young people that now exists in more than 140 countries worldwide.
Speaking on Friday (09.04.21), he said: “He was an environmentalist, and a champion of the natural world long before it was fashionable.
“With his Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards Scheme he shaped and inspired the lives of countless young people and at literally tens of thousands of events he fostered their hopes and encouraged their ambitions.
“We remember the duke for all of this and above all for his steadfast support for Her Majesty the Queen.
“Not just as her consort, by her side every day of her reign, but as her husband, her ‘strength and stay’, of more than 70 years.”
The Prime Minister also said that the royal family “have lost not just a much-loved and highly respected public figure but a devoted husband and a proud and loving father, grandfather and in recent years, great grandfather”.