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Prince Harry will be flying back to the UK to attend the low-key ceremony at St George's Chapel next Saturday

Prince Harry will be attending his grandfather Prince Philip’s funeral next week. However, his wife, Meghan Markle, is not expected to be present due to her pregnancy.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson told CNN that Prince Harry will be flying back to the UK for the private funeral next Saturday, April 17. The Duke of Sussex has not been in the UK ever since he and his wife stepped back from royal duties and moved to the US in March 2020. It is understood that he will be following Covid-19 protocols for his trip back home. 

(Related: Prince Philip, the Husband of Queen Elizabeth II, Has Died at 99)

The couple is currently based in California and a doctor had reportedly advised Markle, who is heavily pregnant with their second child, against travelling to the UK.

Last month, the duo had given an explosive interview to Oprah Winfrey that generated headlines all over the world and has since become a talking point. While that happened, Prince Philip had been admitted to the hospital for an unspecified illness and he subsequently underwent heart surgery.

(Related: Meghan Markle And Prince Harry's Oprah Interview: Everything You Need To Know)

Prince Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, died on April 9 at Windsor Castle. His wife, Queen Elizabeth, was said to have been by his bedside.

Besides Buckingham Palace’s official announcement about Prince Philip’s death, Prince Charles has been the only royal family member to have made a statement.

Speaking to reporters at his Highgrove estate, Prince Charles paid tribute to his father:

“My dear papa was a very special person, who I think above all else would have been amazed by the creation and touching things that have been said about him,” the Prince of Wales said.

“And from that point of view, we are, my family, deeply grateful for all that. It will sustain us in this particular loss and particularly sad time.”

Prince Philip will be laid to rest in a low-key ceremony at St George's Chapel. According to CNN, his coffin will be carried by a Land Rover from Windsor Castle to the chapel, in a nod to the late prince's preference for driving himself, without a chauffeur.