Monday’s funeral comes 11 days after the longest-reigning monarch in British history died aged 96 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8. Thousands of people lined the streets around Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace to watch the Queen’s coffin pass from Westminster Hall to the church and finally to Windsor Castle, where she was laid to rest alongside her late husband Prince Philip and her father, Vasilia. George VI. Millions of people watched the funeral on television at home after the Queen’s death was declared a public holiday. The last time the UK held a state funeral was in 1965 for Prime Minister Winston Churchill. [Dominic Lipinski/pool via Reuters]
The funeral aggravation
In the run-up to the funeral, scores of people across the country camped out and queued for over 13 hours to visit the Queen’s coffin at Westminster Hall and pay their respects. On Monday, Westminster Abbey’s tenor bell tolled 96 times at one-minute intervals – one for each year of her life – pausing before the service began at 10:00 GMT to mark the only monarch most Britons have ever known . The oak coffin was draped with the Royal Standard flag, the Queen’s colours, topped by the Imperial State Crown, placed on a gun carriage and dragged by naval personnel to Westminster Abbey, where Queen Elizabeth was married in 1947 and crowned Queen in 1953. Among the 2,000 people in the church were about 500 world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, Emperor Naruhito of Japan and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. “All the people of the UK: our hearts go out to you and you were lucky to have it for 70 years. we all were. The world is better for her,” Biden said after signing the book of condolences. US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II [Gareth Fuller/Pool via Reuters] The funeral, which lasted less than an hour, closed with the trumpet salute of the Last Post and the national anthem, God Save the King, hailing the transition from one reign to another. “It was incredibly moving. I don’t think he could touch anyone,” Al Jazeera’s Nick Clarke said, reporting from Westminster Abbey. People observe a minute’s silence on the day of the state funeral [Maja Smiejkowska/Reuters]
The royal treasury
King Charles led the mourners and 6,000 members of the armed forces who had marched the coffin in the royal hearse, along with his three siblings, his heir Prince William and his youngest son Prince Harry, from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch. In the afternoon, people lined the route, throwing flowers, cheering and clapping as the hearse traveled 32 kilometers (20 miles) from London to Windsor – the country town Queen Elizabeth had loved all her life. “For the Queen and her family, it is [Windsor Castle] it was where he spent a lot of World War II, during the blitz and the German bombs falling on London,” Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands said, reporting from Windsor. “It was a big part of her life, a big part of the royal family’s life, and of course, the history of the British monarchy goes back many, many centuries,” he said. The hearse carrying Queen Elizabeth’s coffin along the grand route to Windsor Castle [Paul Childs/Reuters] During the ceremony, the crown, orb and scepter – all symbols of the monarch’s power and sovereignty – were removed from the coffin and placed on the altar. Once the royal items were removed, Lord Chamberlain Andrew Parker, the most senior official in the royal household, broke his ‘staff of office’ to place it in the coffin, marking the end of his service to the Queen. The Queen descended into the royal vault of St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. A private family service will follow later on Monday in the chapel which will see the Queen laid to rest alongside her late husband. People hug during the funeral of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II [Mike Egerton/pool/AFP]
The beginning of a new era
The Queen’s death has sparked reflection on the country she ruled and the legacy of its past, its present state and what the future might hold for the UK under a new reign. The funeral was “a hugely resonant moment in history for British people to look back on and look forward too,” Al Jazeera’s Nadim Baba said, speaking from Buckingham Palace. “Now they are singing God Save the King,” Baba said. “People are getting used to it, getting used to the fact that this is the beginning of a new era.”
