Yahoo News Royal Family members to wear suits instead of military uniform at Prince Philip's funeral
Watch: Royals will not wear military uniform at Philip’s funeral
Members of the Royal Family will wear morning coats instead of military uniform at Prince Philip's funeral, it has been confirmed.
Buckingham Palace said the usual royal code of military dress would not go ahead on this occasion, though medals can be worn with suits.
Women will wear day dresses, the palace said.
The decision will particularly affect Prince Harry and Prince Andrew, who were caught up in disputes about wearing uniforms.
Prince Andrew was reported to have sought to wear an Admiral uniform, despite not accepting the promotion on the occasion of his 60th birthday because he stepped back from royal duties, following the fallout from his BBC Newsnight interview about Jeffrey Epstein.
According to The Times he had not made a demand about the uniform.
Prince Harry was stripped of his honorary military titles in March 2021 when it was confirmed he would not be returning to his senior royal duties.
The level of military service he carried out over 10 years only entitles him to wear a suit, though he can wear his medals.
Royal occasions like funerals would usually involve members of the Royal Family wearing their military uniforms. However Charles and Philip wore suits in 1997 for the funeral of Diana.
Diana and Charles had been divorced for some time before her death and the funeral was not considered a state occasion.
At previous events, Harry had worn the uniform of the Blues and Royals, the regiment he was in.
He was also the Captain General of the Royal Marines, an honorary position he had taken over from the Duke of Edinburgh.
But as he was not carrying out royal duties, the Queen could not allow him to continue holding the position.
Read more: Everything we know about Prince Philip's funeral
Prince Andrew was a helicopter pilot who served in the Falklands, and was due to receive promotions in line with his age.
He was promoted to Vice Admiral when he turn 55 in 2015, but deferred the promotion to Admiral in 2020.
Andrew is still "stepped back" from his royal duties.
He hasn't been carrying any out since November 2019 when he had a disastrous interview with Newsnight in which he failed to show regret for his friendship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Former BBC reporter and royal commentator Peter Hunt tweeted: "It’s striking that Andrew thought he could use his father’s funeral to advance his rehabilitation and that it took the leak of news about his uniform choice, to stop him."
Read more: Queen shares heartwarming picture of Prince Philip surrounded by seven of his great-grandchildren
Royal commentator Richard Kay wrote in the Daily Mail: "It is hard to escape the irony of this. Of all those in Philip's immediate family, only two had – like him – seen active service, his son Andrew and his grandson Harry."
He added: "There is Harry, and possibly Andrew, in civilian clothes alongside Prince Edward, who abandoned the Royal Marines just weeks into its gruelling commando course, but who holds a handful of honorary military titles permitting him to don uniform, and Princess Anne, who also has a fistful of Army and Navy appointments but no service experience.
"It is difficult to imagine Philip, who said he never left the Navy but was merely on permanent leave, doing anything but harrumphing at this extraordinary state of affairs."
Prince Philip's funeral will begin with a procession at 2.40pm through the Windsor Castle grounds. The ceremony will be held at 3pm and broadcast on BBC, ITV and live on Yahoo.
Watch: The Duke of Edinburgh and Princess Diana’s Warm Relationship
