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Prince Philip was a big fan of Land Rovers – and he will be taken to his funeral in one he helped design. According to Buckingham Palace, the 99-year-old man worked with Land Rover on the custom vehicle in 2003, with an open rear section designed to his specifications, Reuters reported. The palace says the changes the prince designed include ‘stoppers’ to keep the coffin in place, reports the BBC. The prince, who served in the Royal Navy during World War II, also requested a new paint job in a darker military green. The last changes were made in 2019. According to the Telegraph, he once told wife Queen Elizabeth II that he did not want a flashy funeral, saying, “Just put me in the back of a Land Rover and drive me to Windsor.”
The prince died in Windsor Castle, and the Land Rover hearse will not undertake a long journey: it will be used to take his coffin across the castle to the St. George’s Chapel for the funeral Saturday. Plans for a 22-kilometer journey from central London have been abandoned due to the pandemic. The number of mourners will be limited to 30. It is not clear who will drive the Land Rover, although the Queen has little trouble doing so: Like Philip, she often drove with Land Rovers and she learned to drive and numerous military vehicles to repair Land Rover predecessors included, during her military service in World War II. (A potentially troublesome situation with military uniforms for the funeral was avoided.)