Prince Phillip death: Queen will decide if Harry is allowed to use 'His Royal Highness' title at funeral
Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh passed away on Friday, April 9, at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth by his side. Following the death of his grandfather, Harry, the Duke of Sussex traveled from California to London to attend the funeral that will be held on Saturday, April 17.
However, it is unclear if the Queen will allow Harry to use the 'His Royal Highness' title during the funeral proceedings. Harry and Meghan had been stripped of their HRH titles when they had stepped down as senior working royal members. The HRH title is reserved only for royal family members who are in the line for direct succession to the British throne.
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According to media reports, it has been stated that the Queen has not yet decided whether Harry will be allowed to use the HRH title at the upcoming funeral of Prince Philip. Harry will most likely be referred to as simply the Duke of Sussex. Prince Harry is also expected to not wear his military uniform at the funeral since he has lost all his military titles, including three honorary ones.
The positions that Harry had held in the past include that of Captain-General of the Royal Marines, Honorary Air Commandant of RAF Honington and Commodore-in-Chief, Small Ships and Diving.
It is speculated that he will attend wearing a suit with his medals pinned, something that the media expects to see Prince Andrew do as well. Considering how Prince Andrew stepped back from public life after the uproar about him being linked to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted pedophile.
However, Richard Fitzwilliams who is a royal expert said that he believed anything which would "distinguish" the brothers is likely to be avoided. He explained, "This is obviously very sensitive. Anything that distinguished the brothers in that way, which would be so obvious for anyone watching, would probably be avoided. The whole thing we do not want is any form of rift."
He also added, "I'd suggest it would be handled in such a way as it goes totally smoothly without a hitch, and there are no issues. My opinion is that they would do anything possible to make sure that the spotlight on this very, very important day is where it should be, and that's on truly remarkable achievements of someone with superhuman energy who did so much for Queen and country."
Prince Philip's funeral, which is organized to take place at 3 pm on April 17 at the St George's Chapel, on the grounds of Windsor Castle will be held by Archbishop Justin Welby. The funeral procession will be televised. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, in-person attendance has been restricted.
As of now, the guestlist for the funeral has not yet been released. However, it has been confirmed that a total of 30 guests will be taking part in the funeral procession. Prince Harry will attend after completing his mandatory quarantine period at Frogmore Cottage.