People lined the route her hearse took from London, throwing flowers, cheering and clapping as it passed through the city into the English countryside she loved so much in life. Thousands more had packed into the capital to watch the procession and funeral, in a fitting tribute to Britain’s longest-serving monarch who won worldwide respect during 70 years on the throne. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Inside the stately Westminster Abbey, where the funeral was held, around 500 prime ministers, members of foreign royal families and dignitaries, including the United States’ Joe Biden, were among the 2,000 congregants. The music played at the Queen’s wedding in 1947 and her coronation six years later has been heard again. The coffin entered the lines of sheet music used at every state funeral since the early 18th century. Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, told those in attendance that the grief felt by so many across Britain and the wider world reflected the “abundant life and loving service” of the late monarch. “Her late majesty famously stated in a broadcast on her 21st birthday that her entire life would be dedicated to the service of the nation and the Commonwealth,” he said. “Rarely has such a promise been so well kept. Few leaders receive the outpouring of love we’ve seen.” After the funeral, her flag-draped coffin was pulled by sailors through the streets of London in a gun carriage in one of the biggest military processions seen in Britain with thousands of members of the armed forces dressed in ceremonial regalia. They strode to funeral music from marching bands, while in the background the city’s famous Big Ben tolled every minute. King Charles and other senior members of the royal family followed on foot. The coffin was carried from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch and placed in hearses to travel to Windsor where more large crowds waited patiently. The Queen was to be laid to rest there next to her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip. Among the crowds who came from across Britain and beyond, people climbed lampposts and stood on barriers and ladders to catch a glimpse of the royal procession. Some wore smart black suits and dresses. Others were dressed in hoodies, leggings and tracksuits. A woman with dyed green hair stood next to a man in a morning suit as they waited for the procession to begin in London. Millions more watched on television at home on a public holiday declared for the occasion, the first time a British monarch’s funeral had been televised. Ben Vega, 47, a nurse from the Philippines standing at the back of the crowd on a stool, said it was royal. “I love demonstrations. I love how the British do it,” he said. “I’m from the Philippines, we don’t have that, we don’t have royal families. It’s a sad day for me. I’ve been here 20 years. I saw the Queen as my second mom, England as my second home.”
‘INVINCIBLE’
Elizabeth died on September 8 at Balmoral Castle, her country home in the Scottish Highlands. LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 19: The Queen’s funeral carried in the Royal Navy State Carriage travels along The Mall on September 19, 2022 in London, England. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in Bruton Street, Mayfair, London on 21 April 1926. She married Prince Philip in 1947 and ascended the throne of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth on 6 February 1952 after the death of her father, King George VI. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022 and was succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III. Chip Somodevilla/Pool via REUTERS read more Her health had declined and for months the monarch who had carried out hundreds of official engagements until she was 90 had withdrawn from public life. However, in keeping with her sense of duty, she was photographed just two days before she died, looking frail but smiling and holding a cane as she appointed Liz Truss as her 15th and final prime minister. Such was her longevity and unbreakable bond with Britain that even her own family found her in shock. “We all thought she was invincible,” Prince William told well-wishers. The 40th sovereign in a line that traces its lineage back to 1066, Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1952, becoming Britain’s first post-imperial monarch. She oversaw her nation trying to carve out a new place in the world and was instrumental in the emergence of the Commonwealth of Nations, now a group that includes 56 countries. When she succeeded her father George VI, Winston Churchill was her first prime minister and Joseph Stalin led the Soviet Union. He met important figures from politics to entertainment and sports, including Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul II, The Beatles, Marilyn Monroe, Pele and Roger Federer. Despite being 1.6m tall, she dominated rooms with her presence and became a towering global figure, hailed from Paris and Washington to Moscow and Beijing. National mourning prevailed in Brazil, Jordan and Cuba, countries with which he had little direct connection. “People who love service are rare in every walk of life,” Welby said during the funeral. “Leaders of loving service are still rarer. But in all cases, those who serve will be loved and remembered when those who cling to power and privilege will be long forgotten.” The Abbey’s tenor bell – site of coronations, weddings and burials of English and then British kings and queens for almost 1,000 years – was rung 96 times. Among the hymns chosen for the service was “The Lord’s my Shepherd”, sung at the wedding of the Queen and her husband Prince Philip at the Abbey in 1947. The royal cortege following the coffin at the Abbey included the Queen’s great-grandson and future king, prince george, aged nine. As well as dignitaries, the congregation included those awarded Britain’s highest military and civilian medals for gallantry, representatives of charities supported by the Queen and those who have made “outstanding contributions” to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Towards the end of the service, the congregation and much of the nation fell silent for two minutes. Trumpets rang out before the congregation sang “God Save the King.” Outside, the crowds joined in and erupted in applause when the anthem ended. The queen’s piper ended the service with a wail that faded into silence. The coffin then made its way through central London, past the Queen’s Buckingham Palace, home to the Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner, with the monarch and the royal family following on foot during the 1 .5 miles (2.4 km). From there, it was placed in a hearse at Windsor Castle, west London, for a service at St George’s Chapel. This will be completed with the crown, orb and scepter – symbols of the monarch’s power and rule – being removed from the coffin and placed on the altar. The Lord Chamberlain, the most senior official in the royal household, will break his ‘staff of office’, signifying the end of his service to the sovereign, and place it in the coffin. It will then be lowered into the royal treasury. Later in the evening, in a private family service, the coffins of Elizabeth and her husband of more than seven decades, Prince Philip, who died last year aged 99, will be buried together in King George VI’s Chapel, where the parents her and sister, Princess Margaret, also rest. “We are so happy you are back with grandpa. Goodbye dear grandma, it was the honor of our lives to be your granddaughters and we are very proud of you,” said her grandchildren Princesses Beatrice and Eugenia. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Reporting by Michael Holden and Kate Holton in London and Alistair Smout in Windsor. additional reports by William James, Kylie MacLellan, Estelle Shirbon, Andrew MacAskill, Paul Sandle, Muvija M, Sachin Ravikumar, Farouq Suleiman, Angus MacSwan, Richa Naidu, Peter Hobson, Julia Payne, Natalie Grover, Lindsay Dunsmuir Piper Eliza; Editing by Mike Collett-White and Janet Lawrence Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
