UK military prepares for big role in Prince Philip's funeral

British soldiers, sailors and air force personnel were making final preparations Friday for Prince Philip's funeral, a martial but personal service that will mark the passing of a royal patriarch who was also one of the dwindling number of veterans of World War II.

More than 700 military personnel are set to take part in Saturday’s funeral ceremony at Windsor Castle, including army bands, Royal Marine buglers and an honor guard drawn from across the armed forces.

But coronavirus restrictions mean that instead of the 800 mourners included in the funeral plans before Philip's death last week, there will be only 30 inside St. George’s Chapel, including the widowed Queen Elizabeth II and her four children.

Andre and Stan Walker lay a floral wreath for Prince Philip outside Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Friday, April 16, 2021. Prince Philip husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II died April 9, aged 99, his funeral will take place Saturday at Windsor Castle in St George's Chapel. (AP PhotoAlastair Grant)

Philip, who died April 9 at age 99, was closely involved in planning his funeral, an event which will reflect his Royal Navy service and lifelong military ties - and his love of the rugged Land Rover Defender. Philip drove several versions of the four-wheel-drive vehicle for decades until he was forced to give up his license at 97 after a crash. His body will be borne to the chapel on a modified Land Rover that he designed himself, painted military green and with an open back to carry a coffin.

He and the queen's children - Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward - will walk behind the hearse. So will grandsons Prince William and Prince Harry, although not side by side. The brothers, whose relationship has been strained amid Harry’s decision to quit royal duties and move to California, will flank their cousin Peter Phillips, the son of Princess Anne.

The moment is likely to stir memories of the image of William and Harry at 15 and 12, walking behind their mother Princess Diana’s coffin in 1997, accompanied by their grandfather Philip.

A wreath laid by Andre and Stan Walker for Prince Philip outside Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Friday, April 16, 2021. Prince Philip husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II died April 9, aged 99, his funeral will take place Saturday at Windsor Castle in St George's Chapel. (AP PhotoAlastair Grant)

Armed forces bands will play hymns and classical music before the funeral service, Inside the chapel, Royal Marine buglers will sound “Action Stations,” an alarm that alerts sailors to prepare for battle. Philip spent almost 14 years in the Royal Navy and saw action in the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and Pacific during World War II.

Gen. Nick Carter, the head of Britain’s armed forces, said the ceremony would “reflect military precision and above all, I think, it will be a celebration of a life well-lived.”

“It will also show, I think, how much the armed forces loved and respected him,” Carter told the BBC. “The military always have a great respect for people who have their values and standards and who indeed have shown great courage, and I think that, when we look back at his war record, that sense of courage and what he did is something all of us have great admiration for.”

A man lays bunch of flowers in tribute to Prince Philip outside Windsor Castle In Windsor, England, Friday, April 16, 2021. Prince Philip husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II died April 9, aged 99, his funeral will take place Saturday at Windsor Castle in St George's Chapel. (AP PhotoAlastair Grant)

Along with Philip's children and grandchildren, the 30 funeral guests include other senior royals and several of is German relatives. Philip was born a prince of Greece and Denmark and, like the queen, is related to a thicket of European royal families.

Mourners have been instructed to wear masks and observe social distancing inside the chapel, and not to join in when a four-person choir sings hymns. The queen, who has spent much of the past year isolating with her husband at Windsor Castle, will sit alone.

In a break with custom, members of the royal family who have served in the armed forces or have ceremonial military appointments will wear civilian clothes to the funeral.

A knitted top cover for a post box depicting Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip is exposed in Windsor, England, Friday, April 16, 2021. Prince Philip husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II died April 9, aged 99, his funeral will take place Saturday at Windsor Castle in St George's Chapel. The knitted top show some of Prince Philips favourite things, the Royal Yacht Britannia, right, the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme for young people and his hobby of carriage driving . (AP PhotoAlastair Grant)

The decision, signed off by the queen, means that Harry won’t risk being the only member of the royal family not in uniform. Harry lost his honorary military titles after he gave up frontline royal duties last year. As a result, protocol suggested that Harry, an army veteran who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan, would only wear a suit with medals at royal functions.

The decision also sidesteps another potential controversy after reports that Prince Andrew, the queen’s second-oldest son, considered wearing an admiral’s uniform to his father’s funeral. Andrew retains his military titles even though he has been sidelined from royal duties because of scandal around his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

For AP’s full coverage of the death of Prince Philip go to https://apnews.com/hub/prince-philip

Memorabilia mugs showing a photograph of Britain's Prince Philip on sale at a shop in Windsor, England, Friday, April 16, 2021. Prince Philip husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II died April 9, aged 99, his funeral will take place Saturday at Windsor Castle in St George's Chapel. (AP PhotoAlastair Grant)

A knitted top cover for a post box depicting Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip in Windsor, England, Friday, April 16, 2021. Prince Philip husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II died April 9, aged 99, his funeral will take place Saturday at Windsor Castle in St George's Chapel. The knitted top show some of Prince Philips favorites: the Royal Yacht Britannia, right, the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme for young people and his hobby of carriage driving . (AP PhotoAlastair Grant)

A knitted top cover for a post box depicting Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip in Windsor, England, Friday, April 16, 2021. Prince Philip husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II died April 9, aged 99, his funeral will take place Saturday at Windsor Castle in St George's Chapel. The knitted top show some of Prince Philips favorites: the Royal Yacht Britannia, right, the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme for young people and his hobby of carriage driving . (AP PhotoAlastair Grant)

Armed police guard the King Henry VII gate as a groundsman mows the grass outside St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Friday, April 16, 2021. Prince Philip husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II died April 9, aged 99, his funeral will take place Saturday at Windsor Castle in St George's Chapel. (AP PhotoAlastair Grant)

The Jaguar Land Rover that will be used to transport the coffin of the Duke of Edinburgh at his funeral on Saturday, is pictured at Windsor Castle, in Berkshire, England, Wednesday, April 14, 2021. The modified Land Rover Defender TD5 130 chassis cab vehicle was made at Land Rover's factory in Solihull in 2003 and Philip oversaw the modifications throughout the intervening years, requesting a repaint in military green and designing the open top rear and special "stops" to secure his coffin in place. (Steve ParsonsPool Photo via AP)

GUANARE, Venezuela (AP) — Freedom came too late for Edilson Torres.

The police officer was buried Tuesday in his humble, rural hometown following his death in a Venezuelan prison, where he was held incommunicado since being detained in December on what his family said were politically motivated accusations.

Torres, 51, died of a heart attack Saturday, just as his family awaited the government's promised release of prisoners following the U.S. capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro. The loss left his family reeling.

Now scores of families — who once hesitated to approach advocacy groups — are coming forward to register their loved ones as “political prisoners" in the hope that they might have a more optimistic future than Torres.

Foro Penal, which tracks and advocates for Venezuelan prisoners, has received a “flood of messages” from families since last week, said Alfredo Romero, director of the nongovernmental organization.

“They didn’t report it out of fear, and now they’re doing it because, in a way, they feel that there is this possibility that their families will be freed,” Romero said. “They see it as hope, but more importantly, as an opportunity.”

The head of Venezuela’s national assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, said last week that a “significant number” of Venezuelan and foreigners imprisoned in the country would be released as a gesture to “seek peace” following the operation that captured Maduro in the early hours of Jan. 3. The U.S. and Venezuela's opposition have long demanded the widespread release of detained opposition figures, activists and journalists, whom they claim are used as a political tool by the ruling party.

Venezuela’s government denies that there are prisoners unjustly detained, accusing them of plotting to destabilize Maduro’s government.

Following Torres' death, Venezuela's Attorney General Tarek William Saab said in a statement that the case had been assigned to a terrorism unit and “was linked to criminal activities detected by state security agencies.” He did not offer any details, but the vague language tracks with past accusations leveled against real or perceived government critics.

Romero said that of the roughly 300 families who reached out to Foro Penal, about 100 cases so far have been confirmed as politically motivated. Most of those reported over the past few days, he said, once worked for Venezuela's military. That is on top of more than 800 people that the organization says continue to be detained for political reasons in Venezuela.

As of Tuesday evening, Foro Penal had confirmed 56 prisoners it said were detained for political reasons had been freed. The group criticized the lack of government transparency over the releases. Venezuela’s government negated the organization's count, and reported a far higher figure of 400 Tuesday afternoon.

But the government did not provide evidence of the releases, a time range in which they were carried out nor identify those freed, making it impossible to determine whether those freed were behind bars for political or other reasons.

Before Torres' funeral on Tuesday, a procession of cars and motorcycles stopped at a local jail, where his wife remains detained on disputed accusations.

“My little brother, my little brother,” Emelyn Torres said between sobs after his casket, cloaked in Venezuela's flag, arrived at her home for the wake. A few feet away, their grandmother nearly fainted as dozens of people crammed into the living room to pay their respects.

Hours earlier, as a minivan transported the body of her brother 267 miles (430 kilometers) from the capital, Caracas, to Guanare, Torres learned that other men linked to the WhatsApp group that led to her brother's arrest had just been released from prison. She wailed.

Among those who have been released are: human rights attorney Rocío San Miguel, who immediately relocated to Spain; Biagio Pilieri, an opposition leader who was part of Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado’s 2024 presidential campaign; and Enrique Márquez, a former electoral authority and presidential candidate.

Italian businessman Marco Burlò, who was released from prison Monday, told reporters outside a Rome airport Tuesday that he was kept isolated throughout his detention, which he characterized as a “pure and real kidnapping.”

“I can’t say that I was physically abused, but without being able to talk to our children, without the right to defense, without being able to speak to the lawyer, completely isolated, here they thought that I might have died,” he said.

The small set of releases over the past few days continues to fuel criticisms by families, human rights watchdogs at the United Nations and U.S. politicians, who have accused the government of not following through on their word of a wider release.

But the rapid political shifts in the Latin American nation and the distant possibility of release simultaneously marked a rare moment of hope for many families who have spent years wondering if their loved ones would ever be freed.

Part of the reason that Romero said he believed so many people had not come forward is the government's ongoing crackdown on dissent since Venezuela's tumultuous 2024 election, which Maduro claimed to have won despite ample credible evidence to the contrary.

As mass street protests broke out, authorities said they detained more than 2,000 people. In the month after July elections, Venezuela's government passed a law — dubbed the “anti-NGO law” by critics — making it easier for the government to criminalize human rights groups.

That had a chilling effect, Romero said, making families hesitant to come forward — until now.

Janetsky reported from Mexico City.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Relatives of political prisoners gather at the Central University of Venezuela to call for their release in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Jacklin Ibarreto, whose father Miguel Ibarreto is detained, lays out photos of political prisoners at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Members of a motorcycle club, friends of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, carry his coffin at a cemetery in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Relatives stand by the coffin of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026.. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Relatives of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, gather around his grave during his funeral in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Students lay out photos of people they consider political prisoners at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Jacklin Ibarreto, whose father Miguel Ibarreto is detained, waits outside the Rodeo I prison in Guatire, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, after National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said the government would release Venezuelan and foreign prisoners. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Relatives and friends of political prisoners hold candles calling for their loved ones to be set free outside the Rodeo I prison in Guatire, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026 after the government announced prisoners would be released. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Relatives stand beside the coffin during the wake of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

El Helicoide, the headquarters of Venezuela's intelligence service and detention center, stands in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, after National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said the government would release Venezuelan and foreign prisoners. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Students lay out photos of people they consider political prisoners at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Flor Zambrano, whose son, Rene Chourio, she says is detained at Zone 7 of the Bolivarian National Police for political reasons, embraces relatives of other detainees outside the facility in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

A photo of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, and his family adorns his coffin during his wake at his home in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Relatives of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, sit by his coffin during his wake in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Emelyn Torres leans over the casket of her brother, Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being detained on accusations of treason, during his wake at his home in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Emelyn Torres and Maria Cristina Fernandez, the sister and grandmother of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison after being detained on accusations of treason, embrace during his wake at his home in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)