Funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother

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Funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
Queen Mother Carriage.jpg
The Queen Mother's carriage, surmounted by her crown, adorned with camellias from her own gardens and draped in her personal standard, travels down to Westminster Abbey.
Date Tuesday, 9 April 2002 (2002-04-09)
9:48–13:50
Location Westminster Abbey, London (official ceremony)
St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle (resting place)
Participants British Royal Family

The public funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother occurred on Tuesday, 9 April 2002 in Westminster Abbey in London, following her death on 30 March 2002 at the age of 101.

Background

The Queen Mother had been suffering from a persistent cold which she caught during Christmas 2001, being bedridden at Sandringham after making her final public engagement on 22 November 2001, when she attended the recommissioning of HMS Ark Royal.[1] However, despite missing many other scheduled events—such as the 100th birthday celebrations of Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, on 12 December 2001;[2] the annual luncheon of the Women's Institutes, of which she was President, on 23 January 2002,[3] and traditional church services at Sandringham[4]—she was determined to attend the funeral of her younger daughter Princess Margaret, who had died on 9 February 2002. Despite slipping in her sitting room on 13 February 2002 at Sandringham[5] (and raising considerable concern amongst her daughter, the Queen, and the rest of the royal family), she travelled to Windsor by helicopter the following day.[6] She attended the funeral on 15 February in a people carrier with blacked–out windows,[7][8](which had recently been used by Margaret)[9][10][11] and wished to be, and was, shielded from the press so that no photographs of her in a wheelchair could be taken. Following this, the Queen Mother returned to Royal Lodge, and on 5 March 2002, she was present at the luncheon of the annual lawn party of the Eton Beagles, and watched the Cheltenham Races on television; however, her health began to deteriorate precipitously during her last weeks after retreating to the Lodge for the final time.[12] She weakened further throughout March 2002, dying on 30 March (Easter Saturday) with her surviving daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, at her bedside.

The Queen Mother's body lay at the altar of the Royal Chapel of All Saints near Royal Lodge before being taken to London for her lying in state and funeral.[13]

The published order of service included as a preface the verse beginning "You can shed tears that she is gone", selected by the Queen and attributed to an anonymous writer. The verse became widely popular after the funeral and was later revealed to have been based on a poem written some 20 years earlier by David Harkins, an aspiring artist from Carlisle.[14][15]

The funeral

The West Door of Westminster Abbey, the venue of the Queen Mother's funeral.

The funeral started on 9 April 2002, at 9:48 am in London, when the tenor bell of Westminster Abbey sounded 101 times, each chime representing a year that the Queen Mother had lived. The coffin was carried from the palace on a gun carriage, from Westminster Hall at 11.18 am where the Queen Mother's coffin - draped in her personal standard and with her crown resting on a cushion - had been previously lying in state on a six-foot catafalque. The coffin carried on to the Abbey approximately three hundred metres away, accompanied by a massed pipe band of 128 musicians drawn from 13 British and Commonwealth regiments.[16] The following members of the Royal Family followed the procession: The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, Prince William, Prince Harry, Viscount Linley, Peter Phillips, Daniel Chatto, The Duke of Gloucester, The Duke of Kent, Prince Michael of Kent and Timothy Laurence. Also accompanying the royals were members of the Bowes-Lyon family and some of her senior household staff. The union flag was flying at half mast during the funeral over Buckingham Palace, as well as her own personal royal standard at Clarence House (the Queen Mother's official London residence since 1952.)[17] After the funeral, the banner was lowered for the final time.

The doors of Westminster Abbey were first opened at 9:45 am, and the initial members of the 2,100 guests invited to the funeral arrived, being generally seated at 10.30 am. Five minutes later, VIPs and Heads of State began arriving via the Great West Door. At 10:40 am, the bearer party of the Irish Guards arrived at Westminster Hall, positioning themselves outside the North Door. A guard of honour was given by the Nijmegen Company of the Grenadier Guards, and the members of the royal family walking in the funeral procession arrived from Buckingham Palace and St. James's Palace. Royalty who were not in the procession arrived at the Grand Entrance of Buckingham Palace. All this took part at 10:50 am.

The Queen Mother's funeral carriage. The coffin is draped with her personal standard, shown below.
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The procession then took place between 11:00 am until 11:16 am. Members of the Royal Family were chauffeured to the Abbey's Great West Door at 11:05 am to be received by the Dean of Westminster (Wesley Carr at the time) and Chapter, and conducted to St. George's Chapel. Two minutes later, the visiting clergy partaking in the service, such as the then Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, processed along the centre aisle of the Abbey. The Queen then left Buckingham Palace in the royal Rolls Royce at 11:12 am, arriving with her entourage at the Great West Door four minutes later. She and others, including Lady Sarah and Daniel Chatto, Zara Phillips, Timothy Laurence, Viscountess Linely, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie then walked down the Centre Aisle to their seats in the Lantern. The funeral service began at 11:30 am, lasting approximately fifty minutes.

The funeral commenced with the choir singing the Funeral Sentences composed by William Croft and Henry Purcell. The first lesson from Ecclesiastes, chapter 12, verses 1-7, was read by Dr David Hope, the Archbishop of York and the second lesson, from the Book of Revelation, chapter 7, verses 9-17, was read by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster. The sermon was given by Dr George Carey, the Archbishop of Canterbury and a reading from The Pilgrim's Progress was given by the Reverend Anthony Burnham, the Moderator of The Free Churches Group. The Psalm was Psalm 121, sung to a setting by William McKie. The hymns were Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise; words by Walter Chalmers Smith to the traditional Welsh tune St Denio, and Guide me, O thou great Redeemer from the Welsh hymn by William Williams to the tune of Cwm Rhondda by John Hughes. The anthems were How lovely are they dwellings fair by Johannes Brahms and Holy is the true light by William Henry Harris. The service finished with the Last Post, the proclamation of the Queen Mother's styles and titles by the Garter King at Arms Peter Gwynn-Jones, Reveille and the National Anthem. The voluntary was the Prelude and Fugue in E flat, BWV552 by Johann Sebastian Bach and the Abbey bells rang half-muffled to a peal of Stedman Caters of 5101 changes.[18]

At 12:25 pm, the bearer party lifted the coffin from the catafalque in the Abbey to the hearse outside the West Gate. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh observed the departure of the coffin by road for Windsor, along with other members of the Royal Family. The car procession began at 12:35 pm, via Broad Sanctuary, the west side of Parliament Square, Whitehall, Horse Guards, Horse Guards Arch, The Mall, the south and west sides of Victoria Memorial, Constitution Hill, Wellington Arch, Hyde Park Corner, Queen Elizabeth Gate, South Carriage Drive, Queen's Gate, Great West Road and Dachet. The journey took around 75 minutes.

The Queen and Duke then left the abbey by car for Buckingham Palace at 12:40 pm, followed by others in the processions three minutes later. The Queen arrived at the Palace five minutes later, and lunch for dignitaries there was held at 1:00 pm.

Interment

Queen Elizabeth was interred in the George VI Memorial Chapel next to her husband, King George VI, who had died 50 years previously. At the same time, the ashes of the Queen Mother's daughter, Princess Margaret, who had died on 9 February 2002, were also interred in a private family service.

Guests

Immediate family

  • Mr Samuel Chatto, the Queen Mother's great-grandson
  • Mr Arthur Chatto, the Queen Mother's great-grandson
  • Lady Helen Taylor and Mr Timothy Taylor, the Queen Mother's grandniece and her husband
  • Mr Columbus Taylor, the Queen Mother's great-grandnephew
  • Mr Cassius Taylor, the Queen Mother's great-grandnephew
  • Mr Alexander Ogilvy, the Queen Mother's great-grandnephew
  • Miss Flora Ogilvy, the Queen Mother's great-grandniece
  • Mrs Marina Ogilvy, the Queen Mother's grandniece
  • Miss Zenouska Mowatt, the Queen Mother's great-grandniece
  • Mr Christian Mowatt, the Queen Mother's great-grandnephew
  • Viscount and Viscountess Lascelles, the Queen Mother's grandnephew and his second wife
  • Mr Benjamim Lascelles, the Queen Mother's great-grandnephew
  • Mr Alexander Lascelles, the Queen Mother's great-grandnephew
  • Mr Edward Lascelles, the Queen Mother's great-grandnephew
  • Miss Emily Lascelles, the Queen Mother's great-grandniece
  • Mr and Mrs James Lascelles, the Queen Mother's grandnephew and his third wife
  • Mr and Mrs Jeremy Lascelles, the Queen Mother's grandnephew and his second wife
  • Mrs Gerald Lascelles, second wife and widow of the Queen Mother's nephew
  • Mr Henry Lascelles, the Queen Mother's grandnephew
  • Mr Maximilian Lascelles, the Queen Mother's great-grandnephew
  • Mr and Mrs Martin Lascelles, the Queen Mother's grandnephew and his wife
  • The Dowager Lady Elphinstone, widow of the Queen Mother's grandnephew
  • Mr and Mrs Simon John Rhodes, the Queen Mother's grandnephew and his wife
  • Mr Michel Rhodes, the Queen Mother's grandnephew
  • Mrs and Mr Charles Cope, the Queen Mother's grandniece and her second husband
  • Mr Andrew Strickland-Skailes, the Queen Mother's great-grandnephew
  • Mrs and Mr Nicholas Deans, the Queen Mother's grandniece and her husband
  • The Dowager Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne, widow of the Queen Mother's nephew
  • The Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne, the Queen Mother's grandnephew and his first wife
  • Lord Glamis, the Queen Mother's great-grandnephew
  • Mr John Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother's great-grandnephew
  • Mr George Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother's great-grandnephew
  • Lady Elizabeth Leeming and Mr Antony Leeming, the Queen Mother's grandniece and her husband
  • Lady Diana Faussett and Mr Christopher Faussett, the Queen Mother's grandniece and her husband
  • The Dowager Countess Granville, widow of the Queen Mother's nephew
  • The Earl and Countess Granville, the Queen Mother's grandnephew and his wife
  • Lord Leveson, the Queen Mother's great-grandnephew
  • Lady Mary Cecília Leveson-Gower, the Queen Mother's niece
  • The Dowager Countess of Stair, the Queen Mother's niece
  • The Earl of Stair, the Queen Mother's grandnephew
  • Mr David Dalrymple, the Queen Mother's grandnephew
  • Mr Michael Dalrymple, the Queen Mother's grandnephew
  • Sir Simon Bowes-Lyon and Lady Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother's nephew and his wife
  • Mr John Blair, second husband and widower of the Queen Mother's niece
  • Mr Christopher Burra-Robinson, the Queen Mother's grandnephew
  • Mr Simon Burra-Robinson, the Queen Mother's grandnephew
  • Miss Katherine Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother's niece

Extended family

  • The Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven
  • Lord and Lady Romsey

Foreign royalty

Prime Ministers and Presidents

Many members of the Queen Mother's family also attended the event.

External Sources

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References

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  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Vickers, p. 497
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Vickers, pp. 498–499
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ "'Mysterious origin' of funeral poem", BBC News, 11 April 2002. Retrieved 8 June 2015
  15. ↑ Matt Seaton, "The accidental laureate", The Guardian, 16 September 2002. Retrieved 8 June 2015
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-queen-mothers-royal-standard-flag-flying-at-half-mast-news-photo/52109517
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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