County Championship to pause during funeral of Prince Philip
Apr 11, 2021
London [UK], April 11 : England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Sunday announced that as a mark of respect, all nine County Championship matches will pause between 2:50-4:10 on Saturday, April 17 to coincide with the funeral of HRH Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh.
"We are also asking all recreational cricket clubs across England and Wales to pause play between 3 pm and 4 pm next Saturday in order to pay their respects alongside observing the one-minute silence at 3 pm," ECB said in an official statement.
The funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh will be held at Windsor on April 17, with no public access nor public procession beforehand, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said Saturday.
The event is to be a "ceremonial royal funeral", rather than a state funeral, which "very much reflects the duke's wishes", a palace spokesman said, according to Xinhua.
A national minute's silence will be observed as the funeral begins at 15:00 BST at St. George's Chapel at Windsor.
Members of the public will not be allowed to attend as the proceedings have been scaled down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The funeral will be shown live on television.
Given the current pandemic restriction which allows only 30 mourners to attend, the event will be reduced in scale. At this moment, there is no confirmation yet on the rest of the guest list.
"In line with government guidelines and public health measures, there will be no public processions and the duke's funeral will take place entirely within the grounds of Windsor Castle," the palace spokesman said, as quoted by Xinhua.
The Queen has approved the prime minister's recommendation that there be eight days of national mourning, to end on the day of the duke's funeral, the palace said.
During the national mourning time, union flags will remain at half-mast but the Royal Standard, which is flown when the Queen is in residence at one of the royal palaces, will be at full mast.
The Royal Family will observe two weeks of mourning and royal engagements will continue, with mourning bands worn where appropriate.
