(Newer)
Prince Philip was a huge Land Rovers fan – and he will be taken to his funeral in one he helped design. Buckingham Palace says the 99-year-old worked with Land Rover from 2003 on the modified vehicle, which has an open-back design designed to its specifications, Reuters reports. According to the palace, the modifications designed by the prince include “stoppers” to keep the chest in place, the BBC reports. The prince, who served in the Royal Navy during World War II, also requested a repainting in a darker military green. The last changes were made in 2019. According to the Telegraph, he once told his wife Queen Elizabeth II that he didn’t want a fancy funeral and said, “Just put me in the back of a Land Rover and drive me to Windsor.”
The prince died at Windsor Castle and Land Rover’s hearse will not make a long journey again: he will be used to transport his coffin across the castle grounds to St. George’s Chapel for funeral Saturday. Plans for a 35-kilometer journey from central London were dropped by the pandemic. The number of mourners will be limited to 30. It is not clear who will drive the Land Rover, although the Queen would have little problem with that: like Philip, she often drove Land Rovers and learned to drive and repair numerous military vehicles. including Land Rover predecessors, during her military service in World War II. (A potentially awkward situation with military uniforms for the funeral has been avoided.)