The funeral of Queen Elizabeth II was full of pageantry and pathos as Britain laid its longest-reigning monarch to rest on Monday. Family members reunited, world leaders paid their respects, Britons turned out in droves to bid farewell and choirs sang mournful hymns.
Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral took place at London’s Westminster Abbey on Monday following 10 official days of national mourning.
Attending were the late monarch’s closest family members as
well as some 500 world leaders and foreign dignitaries. In total, 2,000 guests
bid farewell to Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.
Hundreds of thousands of mourners flooded the streets and
parks of the capital city while millions tuned in online to watch Queen
Elizabeth make her final journey back to Windsor Castle, where she is to be
buried alongside her late husband, Prince Philip.
Here are some of the key takeaways from Monday’s events.
President Biden exits a car outside Westminster Abbey before the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. (Hannah McKay/WPA Pool/Getty Images)
President Biden's arrival
President Biden, attending with first lady Jill Biden, was
the only world leader allowed to arrive at the queen’s funeral in a private
vehicle. After flying to the U.K. on Saturday, the Bidens made their way to the
funeral in the presidential limousine, the "Beast,” as part of a
motorcade. Other world leaders — including French President Emmanuel Macron,
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda
Ardern — traveled to the funeral by bus.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Biden was given
special permission to travel to the event in his own car. Shortly after the
ceremony concluded, he headed back to Washington, D.C.
King Charles's goodbye note
The queen’s coffin was draped with the royal standard — a
flag that represents all nations in the U.K.: England, Northern Ireland,
Scotland and Wales. Colorful wreaths were also placed on the coffin along with
a goodbye note from the queen’s eldest son and heir, King Charles III.
The card read: “In loving and devoted memory, Charles R.”
The “R” in Charles’s signature stands for rex, the Latin word for king.
Harry and Meghan relegated in seating arrangements
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, the Duchess of
Sussex, were seated in the second row of the funeral, while Harry’s father,
King Charles III, Queen Consort Camilla, Prince William and Kate Middleton were
seated in the front row alongside their children. Also in the first row was the
queen’s son Prince Andrew, who was stripped of his royal titles earlier this
year due to his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex — who stepped back from their
royal duties in 2020 and moved to California — sat next to Harry’s cousins,
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
Harry was barred from wearing his military uniform at the
funeral despite having served the greatest amount of time in the army, rising
to the rank of captain and serving two tours in Afghanistan.
L-R: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex; Camilla, queen consort; Prince George of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales; and Princess Charlotte of Wales. (Samir Hussein/WireImage via Getty Images)
Kate and Meghan's sentimental jewelry
There was significant meaning behind the jewelry that Kate
Middleton, the Princess of Wales, and Meghan wore to the queen’s funeral. Kate
wore a four-string pearl and diamond choker necklace that was owned by the
queen. The necklace had previously been worn by her late mother-in-law, Princess
Diana. The piece dates back to the 1970s, when it was presented to the queen as
a gift from Japan. Kate previously wore the choker for the queen and Prince
Philip’s 70th wedding anniversary in 2017, and again for the prince’s funeral
last year. Paired with the choker, Kate wore pearl drop earrings that were a
gift to the queen from the ruler of Bahrain for her wedding in 1947.
Meghan also wore a pair of meaningful earrings that featured
diamonds and pearls. A gift from the queen, Meghan wore them on her first solo
outing with her grandmother-in-law in 2018.
The queen's funeral cortege borne on the state gun carriage of the Royal Navy travels along the Mall. (Chip Somodevilla/AFP via Getty Images)
Moment of silence across the U.K.
A two-minute silence was observed across the U.K. to mark
the end of the queen’s funeral. Crowds watching the funeral on screens in Hyde
Park and other royal parks stood in silence to honor the queen. Inside
Westminster Abbey, the end of the silence was followed by the singing of “God
Save the King.”
The coffin carrying Queen Elizabeth II rests in Westminster Hall for the lying in state on Sept. 14, 2022, in London.David Ramos / Getty Images |
The queen’s coffin, made of rare and expensive English oak, was designed 30 years ago — it is also extraordinarily heavy as the coffin is lined with lead, which is why it required eight pallbearers instead of the traditional six. The coffin is lined with lead as it will be interred above ground in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle and because doing so will slow the decomposition process.
The coffin also was designed to be more structurally sound
than most, given the weight of the crown, sceptre and orb sitting atop it.
Lead-lined coffins is a royal tradition. Elizabeth I’s
coffin also was lined with lead, in 1603.
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