Queen and Boris Johnson speak on the phone as PM says he won’t go to Philip’s funeral to allow family members to attend
THE QUEEN spoke to Boris Johnson on the phone the morning after Prince Philip died, it emerged today.
She held a conversation with the PM on Saturday morning, according to an official Court Circular.
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The Duke of Edinburgh died on Friday, aged 99.
The revelation came after the PM said he won't attend the Prince's funeral to allow as many family members as possible to go.
Mr Johnson won't be a part of the restricted group-of-30 allowed to attend the funeral in line with coronavirus restrictions, No 10 has said.
The decision has been made so that the limited spaces can be taken up by grieving members of the Royal Family.
And today it emerged Prince Harry has made the 5,400-mile journey back to the UK to attend the service.
The Duke of Sussex was seen getting off a British Airways flight from Los Angeles that arrived at Heathrow at 1.15pm yesterday.
His wife, Meghan Markle, wanted to join her husband but was advised against travelling by her doctor as she is pregnant with their second child.
The 36-year-old prince, wearing chinos and a jacket plus a black face mask, was met by security staff with police cars also on the tarmac.
He was put into a black Range Rover and whisked away.
Sources had earlier confirmed he was due back imminently to quarantine in time for the Duke of Edinburgh’s farewell at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, on Saturday.
Prince Philip’s funeral will be broadcast to the nation on TV next Saturday - with Charles leading a procession to the chapel at Windsor Castle.
Officials say there will be a national minute's silence in the moments before the service at St George's Chapel begins.
And, in line with the Duke's wishes, he will be laid to rest in a ceremonial - rather than state - funeral.
It is commonplace for the PM to attend the funeral following the death of a member of the Royal Family - with Tony Blair present at the Queen Mother's service in 2002.
And the reverse has also been seen in recent years - with Her Majesty attending Margaret Thatcher's funeral in 2013.
The Queen was also present at Sir Winston Churchill's funeral in 1965.
Mr Johnson will pay tribute to Prince Philip today when the House of Commons sits for a special meeting.
Parliament is set to return from recess a day early so respects can be paid to the Duke of Edinburgh, who died on Friday at the age of 99.
The session, to be held in the Commons chamber, will begin at 2.30pm and is scheduled to run until up until 10pm.
It will start with words of tribute from the PM before other top figures like Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also pay their respects.
MPs will be able to either attend in person or dial in via Zoom, and have been asked to wear "appropriate" mourning clothes such as dark suits.
The PM was due to get his hair cut at the crack of dawn this morning in preparation for the session.
Ministers expect the atmosphere to be sombre, but also for many speeches to be a celebration of the Duke's long life and service.
One told Politico: “He was 99 and had a really good run. It’s almost a celebration of what he managed to achieve in his life rather than a grief-stricken moment.”
The Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish parliaments are all also being recalled today to pay their respects to the Prince.
Nicola Sturgeon will lead the tributes at Holyrood from 11am, with Cardiff's assembly also sitting at the same time and Stormont an hour later, at noon.
Political parties across the UK today have suspended all campaigning for a week to mark a "period of mourning" for Prince Philip.
In an address outside No 10 on Friday afternoon the PM praised the Duke's selfless sense of public service.
He said: "It was with great sadness that a short time ago I received word from Buckingham Palace that His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh has passed away at the age of 99.
"Prince Philip earned the affection of generations here in the United Kingdom, across the Commonwealth and around the world.
"He was the longest serving consort in history, one of the last surviving people in this country to have served in the Second World War.
"At Cape Matapan, where he was mentioned in despatches for bravery and in the invasion of Sicily, where he saved his ship by his quick thinking.
"From that conflict he took an ethic of service that he applied throughout the unprecedented changes of the post-war era."
"Like the expert carriage driver he was he helped to steer the Royal Family and the monarchy so that it remains an institution indisputably vital to the balance and happiness of our national life.
"He was an environmentalist and a champion of the natural world long before it was fashionable.
"With his Duke of Edinburgh award scheme he shaped and inspired the lives of countless young people and at literally tens of thousands of events he fostered their hopes and encouraged their ambitions.
"We remember the Duke for all of this and above all for his steadfast support for Her Majesty the Queen, not just as her consort - by her side every day of her reign - but as her husband, her strength and stay of more than 70 years."
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He added: "And it's to Her Majesty and her family that our nation's thoughts must turn today, because they have lost not just a much-loved and highly respected public figure but a devoted husband and a proud and loving father, grandfather, and in recent years great grandfather.
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"Speaking on their golden wedding anniversary Her Majesty said our country owed her husband a greater debt than he would ever claim or we shall ever know, and I'm sure that estimate is correct.
"So we mourn today with Her Majesty the Queen, we offer our condolences to her and all her family, and we give thanks as a nation and a kingdom for the extraordinary life and work of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh."
