A Day Before Prince Philip Mountbatten's Funeral, Archbishop Of Canterbury Invites Collective Prayer

Queen Elizabeth II with Prince Philip Mountbatten. (Wikimedia Commons / Myles Cullen)

JAKARTA - The spiritual leader of the Anglican Church, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, invites the British public to pray for Queen Elizabeth II or send condolences to her in their hearts, the day before the funeral of her late husband, Prince Philip Mountbatten.

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who had been married to the Queen of England since 1947, died on April 9 at Windsor Castle at the age of 99, leaving a 'great void' in Queen Elizabeth II's life.

On Saturday, a royal funeral ceremony will be held at the Chapel of Sts. George. The funeral ceremony will be simpler due to COVID-19 restrictions, but there will still be traditional grandeur.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who will preside over the service with the Dean of Windsor, said he misjudged how 94-year-old Queen Elizabeth II felt by her appearance at the ceremony.

"She is the queen, she will behave with the extraordinary dignity and extraordinary courage that she has always done. And at the same time, she says goodbye to someone she has been married to for 73 years," Welby said. .

"I think it must be a very, very deep thing in everyone's life, and I hope the whole nation, if they believe in it, they pray for it. If not, then they sympathize and, in their hearts, offer their condolences to him. , and the hope for him to find strength in what must have been a sad time, "he continued.

Queen Elizabeth II has not been seen in public since her husband died. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's second son, Prince Andrew, said his mother was `` resilient '' in the face of a loss which she described as leaving a huge void in her life.

The plan is for the royal funeral ceremony for Saturday 17 April to begin at around 13.00 GMT. One minute of silence across the UK will be held at 1400 GMT.