The Great Funeral Service for Elizabeth II. |
138 sailors bring the Queen to Philip
Billions on TV sets worldwide, millions on the streets of London and 2000 handpicked guests including the most important heads of state, European royals and of course the family at Westminster Abbey. The funeral service for Queen Elizabeth II tomorrow in London will be an event of the century.
Start is at 11.35 a.m. German time. Then the Queen’s coffin is loaded onto the carriage in Westminster Hall. At 11:44 a.m., the 123-year-old gun carriage was pulled by 98 Royal Navy sailors on ropes from Westminster Hall. 40 more sailors follow who can brake if necessary.
Behind them run King Charles III. (73), Princess Anne (72), Prince Andrew (62) and Prince Edward (58). Then heir to the throne Prince William (40), his brother Prince Harry (38) and other male royals and members of the royal household follow.
The tradition with the sailors goes back to Queen Victoria’s funeral in 1901. At that time, the carriage was drawn by horses. But they shied away – and were spontaneously replaced by sailors. Since then it has been a tradition at major state funerals. Most recently in 1965 with Winston Churchill.
A detailed view of the carriage with the attached ropes
The coffin is due to arrive at Westminster Abbey at 11:52 a.m., with the funeral service scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. The service will be led by the Dean of Westminster Abbey, David Hoyle, 65. The sermon will be given by Justin Welby (66), the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The “Last Post” bugle call will be followed by a two-minute nationwide silence at 12:55 p.m. At 1 p.m. the national anthem “God Save The King” will be played.
King Charles stands in front of his mother’s coffin in Westminster Hall
The coffin is then carried out of the church and taken in a procession to Wellington Arch. Here, too, the sailors are pulling the carriage with the Queen, behind them are members of the royal family. King’s wife Camilla (75), Princess Kate (40), Duchess Meghan (41) and Countess Sophie (57) follow in cars.
Big Ben bangs throughout the procession and a gun salute is fired in Hyde Park.
The coffin is expected to arrive at Wellington Arch at 2pm where it will be transferred to a hearse and then driven to Windsor.
The original route has been changed, the car no longer drives on the motorway but on country roads so that even more people can say goodbye to their queen.
Eternal love: Queen Elizabeth II († 96) and Prince Philip († 99) were married for 63 years
There will be a funeral service in Windsor at 5 p.m. in St George’s Chapel, attended by the royal family and Commonwealth heads of state. The crown, scepter and orb are removed before the last song and placed on the altar. Then the coffin with Queen Elizabeth II is lowered into the royal tomb.
In the King George VI side chapel, at 8:30 p.m., the Queen finally finds her final resting place next to her husband Prince Philip († 99), who died last year, only in the presence of her closest family.
This article comes from BILD am SONNTAG. The ePaper of the entire issue is available here.
