In a gesture in keeping with his long-standing ecology, Prince Philip would have received an eco-friendly shipment, placed in a $ 1,200 wool coffin carrying an electric Land Rover.
The funeral Saturday of the Duke of Edinburgh, who died asleep on Friday at the age of 99, will reflect his green ideology, reported The Sun, which noted that he was one of the first to highlight climate change in the 1950s.
Leverton and Sons, the London-based funeral home that hosted Princess Di’s funeral in 1997, have been chosen to be in charge of Prince Philip’s services, according to the newspaper.
The company, which used Britain’s first all-electric hearse, was also involved in arrangements for Queen Mother Princess Margaret and former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, The Sun reported.
The director of the company, Clive Leverton, said: “You see someone who has been in the newspapers forever and then you see their dead body in front of you. But we are not there to stop and cry.
“The same thing happened with Diana, even though it was pretty traumatic for the circumstances,” he added.
AW Hainsworth, a company that makes woolen coffins and makes the military uniforms worn by Prince William and Prince Harry at their wedding, will make the coffin for Queen Elizabeth II’s late consort, according to the report.
“I met the Duke of Edinburgh on several occasions,” the company’s director, Thomas Hainsworth, told The Sun on Sunday.
“I was once at the Queen’s Award for Innovation where I presented myself and explained that I was in textiles. He responded by saying, ‘Oh, yes, a dying industry, right?’ “, He said.
In 2010, Prince Charles invited the company to exhibit at his Garden Party to make a difference to foster sustainability.
“I discovered a company that makes a woolen coffin – coffins, ladies and gentlemen, to die for,” Charles said jokingly.
The coffins, which include a cotton lining and are made of three old ones, are 100% biodegradable.
Hainsworth sales director Rachel Hainsworth said: “She liked the fact that the coffins are environmentally friendly, but also the fact that using British wool we support British farmers.”
The Land Rover hybrid that will carry the coffin will be a Defender 130 Gun Bus, which the Duke helped design, The Sun reported.
The public will not be allowed to view the procession due to COVID restrictions.