ROYAL FUNERALS
TOMORROW Britain says goodbye to the late Queen Elizabeth II at a State Funeral to be held in Westminster Abbey.
Here are some facts about Royal funerals… 1
DURING the procession that took the late Queen’s grandfather, George V’s body to lie in state at Westminster
Hall in 1936, part of the Imperial State Crown fell from the top of the coffin into the gutter.
2
QUEEN Victoria left instructions about items she wanted to be placed in her coffin, including a plaster cast of her late husband Prince Albert’s hand, and sprigs of heather, all covered with one of Albert’s dressing gowns. 3
MORE than a million people poured on to the streets of London on the day of Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997. A further 2.5 billion people watched on TV around the world. 4
AT the Queen Mother’s funeral in 2002 the tenor bell of Westminster Abbey sounded 101 times – for each year of her life. Her coffin was taken on a gun carriage to the Abbey.
5
HENRY VIII’s journey from Whitehall Palace to his resting place in Windsor Castle in 1547 took two days, as 1,000 horsemen and hundreds of followers accompanied a 35ft tall hearse, drawn by eight horses ridden by children.
6
QUEEN Elizabeth
I’s maid of honour, Lady Elizabeth Southwell, described hearing a loud “crack” as the Queen’s “body and head” exploded due to a build- up of gases after lying in state for three weeks in 1603.
7
IN 1830, at the funeral of King George IV, “official guests found themselves unable to sit down – their seats had been taken by ‘ servants of the household, the friends of the carpenters and upholsterers, the petty tradesmen of the town’, who forced their way in uninvited.”
ONLY a monarch is automatically entitled to a State Funeral. For one to be given to anyone else – as for Sir Winston Churchill in 1965 – it has to be approved by Parliament. Princess Di and the Queen Mother had so- called “ceremonial” funerals. HER Majesty’s funeral will be the first Royal State Funeral to be held at Westminster Abbey since George II’s in 1760. They are usually held at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. 10
AT Prince Philip’s funeral last year, controversial COVID rules were in place, meaning Her Majesty had to sit alone as she said goodbye to her husband of 73 years.