Prince Harry and Prince Andrew will not be wearing their military uniforms to honor Prince Philip, who was a Navy veteran, at his funeral on Saturday, April 17.
While Prince Charles and Prince William are expected to be in official military outfits, Harry and Andrew will be wearing suits since they have given up their royal duties. Harry was recently stripped of his ceremonial military role as the Captain General of the Royal Marines after telling his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, that he will not return to his royal duties. Andrew, on the other hand, stepped down in November 2019 and left his future as a working royal uncertain.
Buckingham Palace said that Prince Philip will not have a state funeral but a ceremonial funeral, which means there will be no procession for the public to witness. However, during the ceremonial funeral of the Queen Mother nearly 20 years ago, her grandchildren with Queen Elizabeth all wore military uniforms, including her son-in-law, Philip.
Though they will be in civilian clothing, royal correspondent Richard Fitzwilliams believes that Harry will not be wearing anything that will make him distinguishable from his brother as the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex are expected to walk side-by-side behind the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin. The royal expert said that this issue will be handled in a way that won't cause a further rift within the family, especially since the royals would also want the moment to highlight Philip's life and death and not focus on the family drama.
The royal family and their royal staff will continue to be in mourning for another week after the funeral thus they will be wearing black or something dark if they undertake royal engagements. They will have to wear a black armband if they need to wear military uniforms.
Stationery for communications and will have distinct black edges. The period of mourning will end on April 22. Members of the working royals will be back to their duties until then.
Meanwhile, in a rare instance, since he stepped back from his duties, Andrew addressed the press to talk about his father. He has been avoiding being seen in public after he was heavily criticized for his ties to the pedophile and convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. The Duke of York said that the passing of Prince Philip "left a huge void" for Queen Elizabeth. He also said that they lost the "grandfather of the nation."
