WINDSOR, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 19: Pall bearers carry the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II with the Imperial State Crown resting on high into St. Georges Chapel on September 19, 2022 in Windsor, England. The committal service at St Georges Chapel, Windsor Fort, passed off following the state funeral at Westminster Abbey. A personal burial in The King George VI Memorial Chapel adopted. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Fort in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III. (Photograph by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Photos)
Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Photos
- Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin was seen for the ultimate time earlier than she was lowered into the royal vault on Monday, 19 September.
- Following her state funeral at Westminster Abbey, members of the royal household led by King Charles III mentioned a remaining, extra intimate farewell to the queen at St George’s Chapel.
- The committal service of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II concluded with the congregation singing God save the King, and for the primary time ever, Charles didn’t should sing alongside.
The royal household celebrated a “lifetime of service, love and religion” as they bid farewell to Queen Elizabeth II in an intimate ceremony contained in the grounds of her beloved Windsor Fort on Monday.
Following the majesty and pomp of her state funeral at London’s Westminster Abbey earlier within the day, a smaller congregation gathered on the Gothic St George’s Chapel to pay a extra private goodbye.
The royal hearse carrying the sovereign’s physique arrived on the citadel at 3:40 pm after a 25-mile (40km) drive west from London, getting into its gates to applause and tears among the many large crowd that had gathered since early morning.
“Sixteen years outdated, I swore an oath of allegiance to the queen. She’s been my boss. She means all the things. She was like a present from God.”
— Former soldier Jamie Web page, 41, who served within the Iraq Struggle and bought a practice from his house in Horsham, south of London, to see the queen’s coffin cross by in London
The queen, who died on 8 September aged 96, moved along with her late husband Prince Philip to the citadel in early 2020, because the coronavirus pandemic started, and spent most of her time there.
Inside, her coffin was taken by the citadel’s manicured walkways, freshly mowed lawns and 1000’s of bouquets left by well-wishers, together with wreaths despatched by wellwishers from around the globe.
Her eldest son and successor, King Charles III, his inheritor William and second son Harry adopted behind the coffin because it slowly made its approach in the direction of St George’s Chapel.
Crimson-jacketed Grenadier Guards carried the heavy lead-lined oak casket by way of the nice doorway of the chapel and its crowded nave, the place many mourners bowed their heads in respect.
A choir sang the coffin to its catafalque, which was draped in purple velvet.
The Dean of Windsor David Conner, who led the ceremony, hailed Elizabeth’s “profound Christian religion” that “bore a lot fruit”.
“Fruit, in a lifetime of unstinting service to the nation, the Commonwealth and the broader world,” he added.
Queen Elizabeth II
‘Calm and dignified’
Elizabeth typically prayed in St George’s Chapel, which dates again greater than 500 years, and it was her want that a remaining ceremony be held there.
Though extra intimate than Westminster Abbey, the place lots of of heads of states, overseas royalty and public figures have been among the many 2 000 visitors, the service was nonetheless attended by round 800 mourners.
The chapel, whose building started in 1475, is pricey to the royal household, who’ve celebrated quite a few baptisms and weddings there.
It’s the place Prince Harry married Meghan Markle in 2018 and likewise the place Prince Philip’s funeral was held below coronavirus restrictions final yr.
Her father King George VI, mom Queen Elizabeth and youthful sister Princess Margaret are all interred at Windsor.
“Within the midst of our quickly altering and ceaselessly troubled world, (the queen’s) calm and dignified presence has given us confidence to face the longer term, as she did, with braveness and hope,” mentioned Conner, providing thanks for a “lengthy life” and calling it “a blessing for us”.
The sound of tune and prayer then stuffed the chapel’s ornate picket choir, beneath the suspended banners of the Knights of the Garter, the traditional order of chivalry based within the 14th century.
King Charles III walks behind his mom, Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin throughout a procession from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster. (PHOTO: Getty Photos)
‘God Save the King’
The queen was personally concerned in planning many particulars of the ceremony, together with the music.
Earlier than the ultimate hymn, the royal sceptre and orb in addition to the imperial crown – symbols of the British monarchy’s spirtual and temporal energy – have been faraway from the coffin and positioned on three pink cushions on the altar.
Charles then lined the coffin with the official flag of the Grenadier Guards.
A teary-eye King Charles III salutes his mom Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin because it goes into the royal vault. (PHOTO: Reuters)
The Lord Chamberlain – essentially the most senior official within the royal family – broke his “wand of workplace”, a extremely symbolic gesture signifying the tip of Elizabeth’s reign, and because the coffin of his “darling mama” was lowered into the royal vault, King Charles III blinked and bit his lip.
The ceremony, which lasted round an hour, closed with one other rendition of God Save the King, the reworded nationwide anthem. And for the primary time in his life, Charles, didn’t should sing it.