Bishop Robert and Bishop David have issued the following information, including the invitation to join a pan-diocesan service of prayer this Friday –
Funeral arrangements
You may have seen that the Royal Household has issued some announcements over the weekend regarding funeral arrangements. There will be a Ceremonial Royal Funeral Service for His Royal Highness on Saturday, 17 April at 3pm BST at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. It will not be a State Funeral, which is generally reserved for monarchs. The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Dean of Windsor will receive the coffin. Full details are available at: https://www.royal.uk/funeral-duke-edinburgh-0
Condolences
Since our last letter, we have received national Church guidance that the UK Government has advised against the use of physical condolence books. It is possible to access the Church of England Book of Condolence at the following link directly from the homepage on our diocesan website https://www.churchofengland.org/remembering-his-royal-highness-prince-philip until the end of Sunday, 18 April. We are advised that this Book of Condolence will be offered by the Church of England to The Royal Household, asking that condolences be conveyed to HM The Queen.
A pan-diocesan Service of Prayer
We have decided it would be appropriate to arrange a pan-diocesan online Service of Prayer to mark the life and work of the late Prince Philip, with a distinctive European emphasis. Contributions to the service will reflect HRH’s European lineage and global links across our diocese, including from friends in Greece, Denmark and Malta. Andrew Caspari is co-ordinating the arrangements for this event, which will be on Friday, 16 April at 16:30 BST, 17:30 CET. Here is a Zoom invitation:
A Service of Prayer Across the Diocese in Europe for HRH Prince Philip
Time: Apr 16, 2021 17:30 CET 16:30 BST (please join at 17:15 CET/16:15 BST)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 957 2515 8111
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/adAOcMv1lE
As per previous online events, we will publish details on the website, so that as many who wish to join across the diocese, and beyond, are able to do so on our Diocesan YouTube livestream.