This is a funeral! Palace moves to slap down 'drama' over Prince Harry and William's feud
PRINCE Philip's funeral arrangements which include plans to separate Prince William and Harry have added fuel to speculation about the brothers' feud, prompting Buckingham Palace to hit back vowing it will not "be drawn into perceptions of drama".
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The reunion between the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex was always going to be dramatic following Megxit and then the bombshell Oprah interview. But a public appearance for the two princes behind their grandfather's coffin makes for a particularly sombre coming together more than a year after they were pictured together.
After the palace revealed Peter Phillips had been drafted in to walk between the feuding princes as part of the funeral procession, royal commentators and fans went into a frenzy about the obvious lack of repair in the once-strong brotherhood.
In a bid to put ongoing speculation about the row to bed, the palace released a statement saying the Queen had the final say over the exact arrangements.
It read: "This is a funeral and we are not going to be drawn into perceptions of drama.
"The arrangements have been agreed and represent Her Majesty's wishes."
Harry touched down in the UK on Monday morning and has been isolating ever since.
Under the coronavirus regulations, arrivals from overseas are required to spend their first 10 days in quarantine.
However, they can leave if they provide a negative test on the fifth day.
The Duke of Sussex is believed to be staying at his and Meghan's former home, Frogmore Cottage, with Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank.
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Providing he tests negative for Covid, Harry is set to join his family members in walking behind Philip's casket on its way to St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle tomorrow afternoon.
All eyes will be on Harry, William and Prince Charles less than six weeks after the Sussexes plunged the Firm into its biggest royal crisis of a generation.
Harry and Meghan accused an unnamed royal of racism which forced William to deny his family is not racist.
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Body language experts will be closely watching the trio as they appear together in public for the first time since the explosive claims were made in the Oprah interview.
The palace has confirmed the Queen, like all the 30 guests invited to the service, will wear a face mask during the funeral which will last 50 minutes.
A palace spokesman said the monarch had to make "difficult decisions about who would be there" due to Covid restrictions limiting mourners.
While all of the duke's eight grandchildren will be present, his 10 great-grandchildren will not.
The Queen will be sitting by herself in the Quire of St George's Chapel, after making the way to the venue accompanied by a lady-in-waiting.
After the funeral, Harry is expected to return to pregnant Meghan and Archie in their Santa Barbara home as soon as he can.
The Duchess of Sussex had hoped to attend the funeral but was advised by doctors not to fly, the palace said.
Instead she is reported to have made her own "private arrangements" to remember her husband's grandfather.
Meghan is expecting the couple's second baby, believed to be due as early as June.