Prince Philip's funeral: Queen to say one last goodbye alone; Harry may miss out on hug

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. Photo / The Royal Family, Instagram

The Queen will pause for one last moment alone with her late husband before his funeral takes place on Saturday (early Sunday NZ time).

According to The Mirror, the Queen will have a "moment of reflection" from her moving car as she passes Prince Philip's coffin before it is taken into St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.

It will be the final time the Queen is alone with her husband of more than 70 years.

Once inside the chapel, the Queen will sit on her own in the squire.

Like all 30 guests invited to the service, she will wear a face mask to comply with coronavirus restrictions.

Covid restrictions may also mean the Queen will not be able to hug Prince Harry when she sees him for the first time in more than a year on Saturday.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Royal Family (@theroyalfamily)

Since arriving in the UK solo last weekend for the first time in over a year, The Duke of Sussex has been isolating at Frogmore Cottage, where Princess Eugenie, her husband Jack Brooksbank and their son August are living.

It is understood he has spoken to his family on the phone, but will not physically reunite with the rest of the family until the morning of the service.

Since arriving in the UK last weekend, The Duke of Sussex has been isolating at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor. Photo / AP

However, government regulations dictate that Harry can leave on day five if he returns a negative Covid test, potentially leaving only a "short window" to see his relatives and smooth things over before Prince Philip's televised funeral commences.

Royal correspondent Katie Nicholl told the Herald Sun last night: "I understand there's going to be a very short window of time where he's going to be able to see his grandmother, his father, the Prince of Wales, [and] his brother, of course, Prince William, before they have the world's cameras trained on them at this very public funeral."

She added: "They know cameras will be on them and I think they will be giving very little away in front of the cameras but behind closed doors I think it will be a deeply emotional reunion."

• Prince Philip's funeral begins at 3pm on Saturday local time (2am Sunday NZT).