Oak coffin made more than 30 years ago

THE Queen’s coffin was made from English oak more than 30 years ago in preparation for her funeral.

The casket has special fittings to allow pieces from the Crown Jewels to be placed on it and is also lined with lead – which makes it so heavy eight military bearers are needed to carry it.

But it was created so long ago that no one at the Royal Family’s undertaker, Leverton and Sons, knows exactly who made it. The family firm in Camden, north London, inherited the Queen’s coffin from the previous royal funeral directors, JH Kenyon, in 1991 along with the casket used for the Duke of Edinburgh. They were made far in advance because of the time it takes to find materials.

Although the firm says it is English oak – a wood that is now difficult to source – staff cannot be certain. Funeral director Andrew Leverton told The Times: ‘I don’t think we could use English oak for a coffin now. It would be too expensive.’