In the largest and most spectacular pageant of its sort since Sir Winston Churchill’s funeral 37 years ago, the Queen Mother’s casket was taken on Friday morning from the Queen’s Chapel at St James’s Palace to Westminster Hall, where it is to lie in state prior to her funeral on Tuesday. A quarter of a million people turned out to watch the procession, which stretched half a mile through the streets of London.
Their brows furrowed and their expressions solemn, 14 senior royals, including Princes William and Harry, took their places behind the gun carriage drawn up outside St James’s Palace in Marlborough Road. In the front row were Prince Philip, his three sons and Princess Anne. The Princess Royal’s presence in the procession marked a break with tradition, as she is believed to be the first female member of the Royal Family to participate in what is customarily a male-only role. It is understood that the Princess, who was dressed in naval uniform, had specifically petitioned the Queen to be allowed to join her brothers.
Behind their father came the teenage Princes, flanked by Peter Phillips and Viscount Linley. Ten pallbearers – eight Army colonels, plus the commandant of the RAF flying school and the commanding officer of the Ark Royal – then carried the coffin out of St James’s. Draped in the royal matriarch’s personal standard, it was topped by a wreath of white roses and freesias bearing a card which read: “In loving memory, Lilibet” – the Queen Mother’s childhood name for her elder daughter. Beside the flowers, resting on a tasselled cushion of purple velvet, was the crown the Queen Mother wore at the coronation of her husband George VI. Its myriad diamonds, which include the legendary Koh-i-noor, sparkled in the pale spring sunshine as the casket was gently placed on the awaiting gun carriage.
On the stroke of 11:30am, the procession set off. It was accompanied by the report of 41 guns, fired by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery at one-minute intervals, and sombre music played by military bands. The massed ranks of soldiers – 1,600 in all –immaculately turned out in ceremonial uniform and perfectly synchronised, formed an impressive sight as they made their way down The Mall, which was lined with thousands of people, many dressed in black.
Meanwhile, the Queen, accompanied by Princess Beatrice, Zara Phillips and Sarah Chatto, was driven from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, where she awaited the cortege’s arrival. To the strains of psalm 139 sung by Westminster Abbey choir, the casket was borne into Westminster Hall where key figures, including Tony Blair, Jack Straw and former prime minister Margaret Thatcher were assembled. There, underneath the soaring vaulted ceiling of the medieval hall, the purple-draped catafalque, upon which the Queen Mother was laid to rest, stood in splendid isolation on a red carpeted dais at the centre of the room.
The ceremony which then took place was brief, lasting less than ten minutes. In a short address the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, gave thanks for the Queen Mother’s “faithful duty and unwearied service”, while the Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Wesley Carr, added the simple blessing: “Go in the peace of Christ, amen.” Four members of the Blues and Royals, who will share the duties with several other regiments linked to the Queen Mother, then moved to the corners of the catafalque to take up their vigil. In shifts of 20 minutes each, over a six-hour watch, they will stand guard night and day until the funeral on Tuesday.
As the soldiers settled into position, swords reversed, the long plumes of their helmets falling around their bowed heads, the scene formed an appropriately dramatic setting for the last Empress of India. The coffin will lie in state at Westminster Hall until Tuesday, when it will be taken to Westminster Abbey for the funeral. Members of the public can pay their last respects on Friday from 2-6pm and Saturday-Monday from 8am to 6pm.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
The 14 senior royals who walked behind the gun carriage bearing the Queen Mother's coffin were led by Prince Philip and his four children. Princess Anne's presence, which broke with tradition, was a result of the Princess Royal's specific request to the Queen that she be allowed to participate
Photo: © Alphapress.com
With its lavish ceremony and immaculate timing, the event was one of the most magnificent processions of modern times
