He also hoped to include some of his active role in the management of the Royal Estates of Windsor, Sandringham and Balmoral, which would be represented by three of the Queen’s household priests – one from each estate – offering prayers. While the Duke’s funeral took place without hymns from the congregation, with singing banned under lockdown rules, the 1,800-strong church will be invited to sing Guide me, O thou great Redeemer. The hymn was part of the funeral plans made before Covid, codenamed “Forth Bridge”, at the specific request of the Duke. The Duke had also asked the choir to sing Benjamin Britten’s Te Deum in C. The eclectic list of music will include the moving theme of the Pacific by Blake Neely and Hans Zimmer, composed for a television mini-series about a US Marine Corps fighting in the Pacific during World War II. The final track, The Seafarers, will be played by The Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines Portsmouth as guests leave Westminster Abbey. The service will be sung by the Choirs of Westminster Abbey and the Royal Chapel of His Majesty, St James’ Palace. The Dean of Westminster, The Very Reverend David Hoyle, will direct the service and deliver the offering, describing the late Duke as “a man of rare ability and distinction, rightly honored and distinguished, who has never turned our attention away from himself.” .
