Land Rover, designed by Prince Philip unveiled by Royal Family ahead of funeral service

The intricate details handpicked by Prince Philip for his funeral have been revealed by Buckingham Place ahead of the ceremony in two days’ time. The Duke of Edinburgh designed his own custom-built Land River hearse for the occasion and reportedly the project had spanned for nearly 16 years with Queen Elizabeth II’s husband for over 73 years making the changes and including the request to repaint the vehicle in military green colour. It was the Duke who came up with the open-top rear and special “stops” in order to secure his coffin in place.

Prince Philip’s coffin will be carried on a modified Land Rover Defender TD5 130 chassis cab vehicle that has been unveiled by the Royal Family on April 16 before the Duke of Edinburgh’s final farewell at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. As per Sky News report, Philip began the long-lasting venture to create the bespoke hearse in collaboration with Land Rover back in 2003 when he had turned 82. 

He died in Windsor Castle surrounded by his family at the age of 99 and reportedly made the final adjustments in 2019 to the vehicle. The Defender was manufactured at Land Rover's factory in Solihull in 2003 and Philip even monitored the modifications. On Saturday, the vehicle will be driven by soldiers from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers of which The Duke was Colonel-in-Chief.

When will the service start?

The service to honour the Duke of Edinburgh will begin at 3 PM (local time) or 10 AM ET or 7:30 PM IST in St George's Chapel, Windsor with a national minute of silence, revealed Buckingham Palace in a statement. Prince Philip’s funeral will be “Ceremonial Royal Funeral”, the same as that of Queen’s Mother in 2002. It will not be a “State Funeral” which is usually reserved for the UK monarchs. The service will be conducted by the Dean of Windsor and the Archbishop of Canterbury will pronounce the Blessing.

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