The Archbishop of Canterbury has paid tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh’s “righteous impatience” and “gift of moral imagination”.

Justin Welby‘s words, during an online memorial service at Lambeth Palace, come as he prepares to lead a live service at Canterbury Cathedral in memory of the duke at 10.30am today.

During Saturday evening’s online service, Mr Welby said Prince Philip had been someone with a “deep and genuine sense of service and humility”.

He said: “It wasn’t ‘me, me, me’. It was about the world, about those he served, and in doing that his own role was more and more significant.

“He had a righteous impatience. He would not accept the status quo. If things were not right, he would say so and say so quickly, and clearly, and often bluntly.

“Prince Philip, also though, had a deep and genuine sense of service and humility.”

He described him as someone who “knew the talents he had and what he could bring, and he brought them 100%, at full throttle, right through his life”.

Earlier on Saturday, many of the senior royals visited the Queen, with the Duke of York and the Princess Royal both spotted at Windsor.

The Earl and Countess of Wessex were also with the Queen, with Sophie telling reporters as she left: “The Queen has been amazing.”

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Prince Charles, the duke’s eldest son, spoke from his Gloucestershire home of Highgrove, saying the Royal Family were being helped through this “particularly sad time” by the public support they had been given.

He said his father had “given the most remarkable, devoted service to the Queen, to my family and to the country, but also to the whole of the Commonwealth”.

“As you can imagine, my family and I miss my father enormously,” said Charles, adding that Philip would be “deeply touched” by the people around the world sharing “our loss and our sorrow”.

The UK has started a period of national mourning up to and including the funeral on Saturday afternoon at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

It will be a small and socially-distanced gathering of 30 people to abide by coronavirus restrictions.

It is expected Prince Harry will travel from his home in the US for the funeral but his wife the Duchess of Sussex has been advised not to travel, as she is pregnant.

Mourners from overseas are required to self-isolate for the first full 10 days after they arrive, but are allowed to leave on compassionate grounds to attend a funeral of a close family member.

The Duke of Sussex, who will have travelled from the US, could also be released from quarantine if he gets a negative private test on day five under the Test to Release scheme.

Prince Philip’s coffin will be transported from the castle to the chapel in a modified Land Rover he helped to deign, followed by Prince Charles and senior royals on foot.

The coffin will be covered by the duke’s personal standard, his naval cap and sword, and a wreath of flowers.

The route of the procession will be lined by representatives from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and RAF and the Service chiefs will walk ahead of the coffin, with the cortege led by the Band of the Grenadier Guards.

The funeral will be televised but all public elements have been cancelled.

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