The royals told them not to come, but for some, it was just too hard to stay away.
Key points:
- Mourners have turned out to WIndsor Castle to pay tribute to Prince Philip after the 99-year-old died there on Friday
- The royal family have asked people to not visit royal residences and instead leave condolences messages online
- The Queen and Prince Philip spent most of their final year together at Windsor Castle due to COVID-19
Outside the gates of Windsor Castle, local residents and those from further afield streamed in to lay flowers and reflect on Prince Philip's legacy.
It was a somber but low-key affair: Mourners filed in and out, in an orderly British fashion. Their flowers left in neat rows along the fence.
But the loss of a figure that has towered over Britain for decades has tested the stiffer upper lip of many Brits.
And even the pandemic mask could not hide the emotion.
"You wonder how the Queen is going to keep going without her kind of wingman," Jonathan, 50, told the ABC as he fought back tears.
"It must be like losing a limb."
ABC News: Andrew Greaves
)And it was, by and large, thoughts for the Queen, now widowed after 73 years, that occupied people's minds.
"Like everybody else who has lost a partner who they have been with for so long, our thoughts are with her," said one woman as she carried flowers to the gate edge.
"It's a very sad day, a very sad day indeed."
Mourners of all ages came to pay tribute.
Sarah, a mother of two, brought her young son Harry along to pay their respects,.
"Our hearts go out to the Queen," she said.
"At least he lived that long. A nice long life," Harry remarked.
He was just 62 days shy of his 100th birthday.
Stewards and police were on hand to direct traffic, and ensure social distancing was adhered to, but that was difficult at times to achieve.
ABC News: Andrew Greaves
)Those who brought flowers were told to unwrap them from any plastic before placing them on the green lawn surrounding the edge of the castle fence.
But floral mounds would not build, as we have seen during royal deaths in the past.
Instead, the bunches will be collected and taken within the palace grounds so the royal family can view them privately.
The messages and cards would be collated and placed online.
The loss of a local
The pubs are still closed due to coronavirus, but at the Two Brewers, that sits right next to the castle grounds, manager Stuart O'Brien had placed photographs of the duke in the windows.
ABC News: Andrew Greaves
)The publican said that despite being the Queen’s consort and revered around the world, Prince Philip would be remembered by locals as a “normal and very natural kind of person".
Prince Philip and the Queen spent much of their final year together shielding at Windsor during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But even before that, Windsor was one of their favourite residences.
"He used to love his carriage riding," Mr O'Brien told the ABC.
"He would leave the stable, which are just down the other end of park street, [and] come all the way down about three or four times a week.”
That activity stopped about three years ago, but other locals who spoke to the ABC also fondly remembered witnessing the duke's carriage rides.
The duke’s commitment to the 4500-acre, Windsor Great Park, also struck Mr O'Brien.
Reuters: Toby Melville
)The 99-year-old had been the ranger of the park for 70 years, reintroducing deer and providing guidance to care for the woodlands, farms and wildlife.
"I don't think people realise how much he did but around here he was very well respected, and he will be very well missed as well," Mr O'Brien said.
"It's going to be a very tough time."
Despite warnings, crowds flock to farewell Prince Philip, Windsor's second-favourite local - ABC News
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