Meghan Markle sent a thoughtful wreath with a handwritten note to mark Prince Philip's funeral

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - SEPTEMBER 04: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 24 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attends the WellChild awards at the Royal Lancaster Hotel on September 4, 2018 in London, England. The Duke of Sussex has been patron of WellChild since 2007. (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

(Image credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

published 18 April 2021

Meghan Markle paid her respects to Prince Philip with a handwritten note and a thoughtful wreath, despite not being able to attend the funeral yesterday.

· Meghan couldn’t attend the funeral because of her pregnancy but wanted to send a colourful wreath.

· The pretty wreath was designed and handmade by Willow Crossley – a florist in the Cotswold’s.

· In other royal news, The Queen sat alone at Prince Philip's funeral on Saturday.

Meghan and Harry’s wreath lies alongside wreaths from other family members after the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral. pic.twitter.com/V1r9D81RBTApril 17, 2021

Many of us tuned in from home yesterday to watch Prince Philip's funeral, and Meghan Markle was doing the same thing.

According to sources, the Duchess of Sussex couldn't join Prince Harry in London due to her pregnancy and not being able to fly. However, she made sure her wreath and handwritten note stood out during the funeral.

The funeral service yesterday for Prince Philip took place at St George's Chapel in Windsor, with 30 members of the royal family attending - including Prince William, Kate Middleton and Prince Charles.

The service paid homage to the Duke of Edinburgh's love of the sea, with a number of touching details relating to his time spent serving the Royal Navy.

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During the service, we saw many of the wonderful wreaths that family and friends sent to honour the late Prince - who died last week.

Among the wreaths, which lay just below Prince Philip's coffin was the beautiful handmade wreath that Meghan and Harry sent - made up of purple and blue locally sourced flowers, by Willow Crossley - one of the Duke and Duchesses favourite florists.

Some of the flowers included also had a meaning - acanthus mollis (bear's breeches) are the national flower of Greece, which is where the Duke was born, while the flowers eryngium (sea holly) were also included, which gave a nod to his time in the Royal Marines. The wreath also had a handwritten note from the Duchess.

More than 13 million people tuned in to watch the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral as it was televised on the BBC and ITV on Saturday.

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Sarah is a freelance journalist - writing about the royals and celebrities for Woman & Home, fitness and beauty for the Evening Standard and how the world of work has changed due to the pandemic for the BBC.

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