The Queen,who acceded to the throne on February 6,1952,upon the death of her father,George VI,was the first sovereign to be given a funeral at the abbey since George II in 1760 which marked the end of a 10-day national period of mourning.
Among mourners were future king Prince George,9,and his sister,Princess Charlotte,7,who walked between their parents behind the Queen’s coffin as part of a solemn procession through Westminster Abbey.
The hour-long service finished with the Last Post,sounded by the state trumpeters of the Household Cavalry as two minutes’ silence was observed across the United Kingdom. Crowds lining The Mall broke into spontaneous applause after the congregation then sangGod Save the King.
The sovereign’s piper played a traditional lament,Sleep,Dearie,Sleep,as the Queen’s coffin was carried by a historic gun carriage for a procession in front of tens of thousands of her adoring subjects to Wellington Arch,Hyde Park Corner,before travelling to Windsor for a committal service and a private burial. More than 2000 military personnel,including from Commonwealth nations,marched in the century-old traditional funeral procession.
The coffin was taken past Buckingham Palace for the final time – the balcony where she celebrated the end of World War II,weddings and Jubilees – as her coffin travelled towards Wellington Arch.
Members of the royal family,including the King,remained expressionless as they marched behind,while other members of the royal family,including Catherine,Princess of Wales,looked on at the crowds as they passed them in vehicles.
Mourners waved flags,threw flowers and gave the coffin a round of applause as the hearse slowly drove past.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Governor-General David Hurley sat seven rows back from the front of the church,surrounded by peers from 14 British realms,including Canada and New Zealand,as well as other Commonwealth nations.
All former living British prime ministers were present:Sir John Major,Sir Tony Blair,Gordon Brown,David Cameron,Theresa May and Boris Johnson,while world leaders included Joe Biden,Jacinda Ardern,Emmanuel Macron and Justin Trudeau.
A wreath that adorned the coffin included flowers and foliage requested by the King,which were cut from the gardens of Buckingham Palace,Clarence House and Highgrove House.
It was accompanied by a card,handwritten by the King,which said:“In loving and devoted memory. Charles R.”
The wreath included rosemary for remembrance and myrtle cut from a plant grown from a sprig of myrtle in the Queen’s wedding bouquet. English oak was included to symbolise the strength of love,as well as pelargoniums,garden roses,autumnal hydrangea,sedum,dahlias and scabious.
The service began with the choir singing the Burial Sentences – starting with “I am the resurrection and the life” to a setting by William Croft as the coffin was processed through the abbey.
Those five sentences,which are lines of scripture set to music,were sung at the beginning of the funeral of the Queen Mother in 2002 and have been used at every state funeral since the early 18th century.
British Prime Minister Liz Truss,who was appointed by the Queen just two days before the 96-year-old died at Balmoral on September 8,read a Bible verse,from John 14:1-9a,which began “do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God;believe also in me.”
After prayers were said from the high altar,the choir sangO Taste and See,composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams for the Queen’s coronation in 1953.
The service,written in consultation with the late Queen,had echoes of the funeral for her father King George VI,which was held at St George’s Chapel,where the committal service for Elizabeth II took place later on Monday afternoon.
At that service,which was much shorter,the choir also sang Psalm 23,The Lord Is My Shepherd,just as the congregation sang this time for the Queen. The hymn was sung,too,at the wedding of the then Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten in 1947.
Among Australians in the service were Professor Barbara Bain,a haematologist and oncologist,who has been honoured for her work at St Mary’s Hospital,Dr Lissant Bolton from the British Museum and Professor Mark Dodgson,who researches,teaches,and consults on innovation and entrepreneurship at Oxford University.
Australian military heroes Mark Donaldson and Keith Payne,winners of the Victoria Cross more than five decades apart,were also part of a procession into the abbey.
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