Fifty years to the day from the state funeral of her father King George VI, Princess Margaret was laid to rest on Friday in a low-key funeral at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. At Margaret’s request, the ceremony was a private affair, attended only by about 400 close friends and family.
Hundreds of people lined the streets as those attending the service began arriving at the chapel in limousines and minibuses around 2pm.
Dressed in sombre black, the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, Princes Harry and William, and Princess Margaret's children Lord Linley and Lady Sarah Chatto, were driven to the service in dark cars, while some members of the royal family, including Princess Anne, came on foot. The Earl and Countess of Wessex and the Princess Royal’s husband and children were also present.
The Queen Mother, as she had promised, attended the funeral despite her ill health. The ailing centenarian arrived by car, entering the chapel through a private door. She had travelled from Sandringham by helicopter on Thursday afternoon, the same day Margaret’s coffin was moved from the Queen’s chapel in St James’s Palace to St George’s Chapel at Windsor.
Also in attendance were Princess Margaret’s ex-husband, the Earl of Snowdon, her favourite butler, Harold Brown, and her former beau Roddy Llewellyn, accompanied by his wife Tania, a good friend of the late Princess.
Names from the world of entertainment also came to pay their last respects to Princess Margaret. Among the mourners were singer Dame Cleo Laine and her husband John Dankworth, actress Felicity Kendall and Dame Judi Dench.
The 50-minute service was conducted by the Dean of Windsor with the Archbishop of Canterbury. Princess Margaret had reportedly specified many of the details of the ceremony, such as music and readings, in the months before her death. The order of service began with Psalm 23: The Lord Is My Shepherd, sung by the choir, and the Princess's son, Lord Linley, read the Lesson from Romans 8.
Breaking with tradition, the late Princess’ remains were cremated following her funeral during a simple ceremony at a municipal crematorium in the town of Slough, about eight miles from Windsor. Accordingly, after the service, the hearse was followed to the crematorium by a car carrying the Dean of Windsor, the Princess's private secretary, Viscount Ullswater, and a senior representative from the Lord Chamberlain’s Office at Buckingham Palace.
According to Margaret’s wishes, the cremation was held without the pomp and circumstance of a royal funeral, with no member of her family or friends present. Her ashes, also at her request, were placed next to her father’s coffin in the royal crypt of St George’s chapel.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
