{"id":121695,"date":"2021-04-18T10:11:37","date_gmt":"2021-04-18T10:11:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=121695"},"modified":"2021-04-18T10:11:37","modified_gmt":"2021-04-18T10:11:37","slug":"prince-philips-inside-joke-with-the-queen-that-inspired-his-land-rover-hearse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/world-news\/prince-philips-inside-joke-with-the-queen-that-inspired-his-land-rover-hearse\/","title":{"rendered":"Prince Philip's inside joke with the Queen that inspired his Land Rover hearse"},"content":{"rendered":"

PRINCE Philip\u2019s Land Rover hearse was inspired by an inside joke with the Queen.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Duke of Edinburgh\u2019s final journey during his funeral at Windsor yesterday was on the back of a modified Land Rover he helped design rather than a traditional gun carriage.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udd35 Read our Prince Philip funeral live blog <\/strong>for the latest updates<\/strong><\/p>\n


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This detail was in line with what he had requested under Operation Forth Bridge.<\/p>\n

And the idea for the hearse started out as a joke; according to reports from the Mirror, Philip once told the Queen that when he died she should \u201cjust stick me in the back of a Land Rover and drive me to Windsor\u201d.<\/p>\n

In preparation for his funeral, the Duke decided to turn this into a reality.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the Mirror, the chief engineer who worked on the vehicle, Steve Routly, said the vehicle had been designed in a hush-hush operation.<\/p>\n

Few people knew about the vehicle, other than the 30 engineers who had worked on it.<\/p>\n

The vehicle was kept in a temperature-controlled compound a few miles from the Jaguar Land Rover HQ in Coventry for years after it was finished.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Duke\u2019s Land Rover had been in there for a decade, being regularly serviced and looked after for when it might be needed,\u201d Routly said.<\/p>\n

Routly said the coffin was made at the same time, because the rollers had to be measured to the exact size.<\/p>\n

Philip was ferried in the vehicle, flanked by military pall bearers, at walking pace for eight minutes on a route inside Windsor Castle grounds to St George's Chape yesterday.<\/p>\n

Senior Royals including Prince Charles followed behind on foot, with Princes William and Harry in tow, along with Princess Anne and Princes Edward and Andrew.<\/p>\n

The Land Rover was a green modified Defender 130 Gun Bus.<\/p>\n

Prince Philip is believed to have chosen the Land Rover out of his love for them, having been a driver of the four-wheel drive vehicles for decades.<\/p>\n

It was worked on by Foley Specialist Vehicles, based in Harlow, Essex, after a 45-minute meeting with the Duke at Sandringham.<\/p>\n

He had a close relationship with the firm\u2019s bosses and is said to have frequently visited the team after starting the design of the hearse when he was 83.<\/p>\n

In a further nod to the Duke of Edinburgh\u2019s green credentials, the modified Land Rover Defender 130 Gun Bus he had a hand in designing was a hybrid.<\/p>\n

A senior Buckingham Palace official said: \u201cThe Duke of Edinburgh had a hand many years ago in the design of these vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Palace website adds: "His Royal Highness\u2019s coffin will be carried in a purpose-built Land Rover – which The Duke was involved in the design of – flanked by military Pall Bearers, in a small Ceremonial Procession from the State Entrance to St George\u2019s Chapel, for the Funeral Service."<\/p>\n

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