Due to the circumstances of the times, the British royal family announced last week that Prince Philip’s funeral would be a “scaled-back” situation, which is how it is widely being described. “Scaled-back”, by royal standards, though, is still quite a spectacle. I mean, just look at these pictures. As for all the controversy about the royal men and their attire and not wearing military uniform because of the mess that is Prince Andrew, in the end, the men still appeared to be in a uniform of sorts in their morning suits because of the similarity of each of the outfits. The pants look to be exactly the same. The jackets looked all the same. So the resulting uniformity of their entire squad was quite effective, which added to the visual impressiveness of the occasion.
And this, as we have seen over years and years, is what the British royals do well – they know how put on a show. Since this was meant to be broadcast, let’s not pretend this wasn’t a show. The show is a British monarchical asset, the kind of display we haven’t seen in a while now. It’s been reported that for Prince Philip, “this was the funeral he wanted”, as apparently all the details, including the music and the readings, were chosen by the Duke himself. There were also some elegant and subtle touches, like his hat and gloves laid on the seat in the Range Rover, and his sword on top of the coffin. According to reports, while obviously sad, the Queen is taking “great comfort” in the fact that Prince Philip had the time to make clear his funeral wishes.
Of course the moment most people are talking about came after the service, as the royals exited the chapel, and Prince William, Prince Harry, and Kate came out together, and cameras showed them walking back to Windsor Castle, side by side, and saying a few words to each other.
On top of all the speculation that this means that William and Harry are on the path to healing, the tabloids are bending over backwards trying to give credit to certain people for making this happen. Kate is being praised for being the “peacemaker”, the person who brought Will and Harry back together. And the Daily Mail is thirstily trying to kiss Prince Charles’s ass, declaring it a “master stroke” on the part of the future king because he decided not to get in the car and walk back to the castle instead, thereby creating the opportunity for William and Harry to connect.
And now people are trying to figure out when Harry will leave to return to the United States. Some are saying he’s eager to get home while others are rumouring that he may stay until the Queen’s birthday on Wednesday – and if that’s the case, is that another sign that relationships may be repaired? Doesn’t sound like anyone really knows what Harry’s plans are. But any true reconciliation should involve all parties, and not just the ones with the same bloodlines, you know?
William and Harry aside though…
Can we just talk about this piece in The Sunday Times about Prince Philip’s funeral? Here’s the online version of the article which... is slightly different from what it was in the print version.
It’s the article with the title “Forced to Mourn Alone”, third paragraph. Right now, on the website, it reads:
“To her subjects, Prince Philip, 99, was the longest-serving royal consort in British history — an often crotchety figure, offending people with his gaffes, even if we secretly laughed at them.”
Zoom in on the original though that went to print and this is what the sentence used to be:
“To her subjects, Prince Philip, 99, was the longest-serving royal consort in British history — an often crotchety figure, offending people with his gaffes about slitty eyes, even if we secretly laughed at them.”
WHAT IN THE …?!?
Someone actually wrote this. And other people published it. At some point it was corrected. But this is what we’re f-cking dealing with here. Referencing Prince Philip joking about “slitty eyes” and Asians and “secretly” endorsing it with a laugh. These are likely the same people who feel qualified to tell us what is and isn’t racist. Are they though? Are they really?
