Family gathered for private burial

The King and the royal family were due to gather for a “deeply personal” private burial service in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, following the Queen’s state funeral and committal service.

The service at 7.30pm on Monday was conducted by the Dean of Windsor and attended by King Charles III, the Queen Consort, the Queen’s children, the Prince and Princess of Wales and other members of the royal family.

The central feature of the pale stone memorial chapel annexe, which was added on to the north side of St George’s behind the North Quire Aisle in 1969, is a black stone slab set into the floor. It is inscribed with “George VI” and “Elizabeth” in gold lettering and accompanied by their years of birth and death.

George VI died in 1952, but was first interred in the Royal Vault and moved to the memorial chapel when it was built 17 years later.

When Prince Philip died 17 months ago, his coffin was interred in the Royal Vault of St George’s – ready to be moved to the memorial chapel when the Queen died.

A senior palace official said: “The service and burial will be entirely private, given it is a deeply personal family occasion.”

The tiny King George VI Memorial Chapel also houses the remains of the Queen Mother and the Queen’s sister Princess Margaret.

Princess Margaret, who died in 2002, was cremated and her ashes were initially placed in the Royal Vault, before being moved to the George VI memorial chapel with her parents’ coffins when the Queen Mother died weeks later.