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Princess Anne only woman to walk in Philip’s funeral procession

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Updated on April 21, 2021

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Princess Royal, Anne, was the only woman present among the team of senior Royals who marched behind Prince Philip’s casket on its final trip to St. George’s Cathedral during his funeral procession.

Philip’s second child and only daughter, the 70-year-old has a busy and influential role in the Royal family. Anne is the 15th in line to the throne, after her brothers Charles, Andrew, and Edward, as well as their children and grandchildren.

During royal funeral processions, men traditionally accompany the casket, but Anne, clad in a black coat with her military decorations, joined the men on Saturday, echoing her appearance during the funeral of her grandmother, the Queen Mother, in 2002, when she was also part of the procession.

In a 2020 interview with Vanity Fair, Anne clarified her decision. “I think it was probably easier for them, and I think most people would argue that there are downsides to having titles. So I think that was probably the right thing to do.”

The Princess Royal cut a striking and lonely figure as the only woman in a sea of men, as Anne and her elder brother Charles lead the way.

Anne remembered Philip encouraging William and Harry, then 15 and 12, to walk in the funeral procession behind their mother’s casket at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in an interview with ITV. In footage from the incident, Philip can be seen putting his hand on Harry’s shoulder, comforting him after his mother died in a car accident.

Anne remarked, “I seem to remember him saying that in fact, it was a question of, ‘If you’ll do it, I’ll do it.’ And that was him as a grandfather saying, ‘If you want me to be there — if that’s what you want to do — if you want me to be there, I will be there .”

Anne issued a statement following the death of her father. “You know it’s going to happen but you are never really ready,” she said. “My father has been my teacher, my supporter and my critic, but mostly it is his example of a life well lived and service freely given that I most wanted to emulate .”

She went on to say that she aspired to be like her father, who was able to handle each person as an entity with their own set of skills.

Throughout her life as a woman, she was omitted from a number of royal customs, though some of those have since changed as women have assumed larger positions in the monarchy.

In the parade, the Princess Royal was also accompanied by her husband and some of the Duke of Edinburgh’s grandchildren.

Princess Anne married and later divorced Captain Mark Phillips, and she defied custom by not bestowing formal royal titles on her children, Peter and Zara Phillips. She has five grandchildren, and is married to former Naval officer Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence.

Anne is a decorated equestrian who won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in 1971 and competed in the Olympic games in Montreal.