Funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother

Funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
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 she 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 precipitately 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 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 the years of the Queen Mother's lifetime. 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.^[14] 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.)^[15] 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.

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, 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.^[16]

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

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, the late Queen Mother's daughter and her husband

The Prince of Wales, the late Queen Mother's grandson

The Duke of York, the late Queen Mother's grandson

The Earl and Countess of Wessex, the late Queen Mother's grandson and his wife

The Princess Royal and Commodore Timothy Laurence, the late Queen Mother's granddaughter and her second husband

Mr Peter Phillips
Miss Zara Phillips

The Earl of Snowdon, ex-husband of the late Queen Mother's late daughter

Viscount and Viscountess Linley, the late Queen Mother's grandson and his wife

Mr Charles Armstrong-Jones

Lady Sarah Chatto and Mr Daniel Chatto, the late Queen Mother's granddaughter and her husband

Mr Samuel Chatto
Mr Arthur Chatto

Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, the late Queen Mother's sister-in-law

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the late Queen Mother's nephew and his wife

The Duke and Duchess of Kent, the late Queen Mother's nephew and his wife

Earl and Countess of St Andrews

Lady Helen Taylor and Mr Timothy Taylor

Mr Columbus Taylor
Mr Cassius Taylor

Lord Nicholas Windsor

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, the late Queen Mother's nephew and his wife

Princess Alexandra, Lady Ogilvy and Sir Angus Ogilvy, the late Queen Mother's niece and her husband

Mr and Mrs James Ogilvy

Mr Alexander Ogilvy
Miss Flora Ogilvy

Mrs Marina Ogilvy

Miss Zenouska Mowatt
Mr Christian Mowatt

The Earl and Countess of Harewood, the late Queen Mother's nephew and his second wife

Viscount and Viscountess Lascelles
Mr and Mrs James Lascelles
Mr and Mrs Jeremy Lascelles

Dowager Mrs Gerard Lascelles, second wife and widow of the late Queen Mother's late nephew

Mr Henry Lascelles
Mr Martin Lascelles

The Earl and Countess of Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, the late Queen Mother's grandnephew and his first wife

Lord Glamis
Mr John Bowes-Lyon
Mr George Bowes-Lyon

Lady Elizabeth Leeming and Mr Antony Leeming, the late Queen Mother's grandniece and her husband
Lady Diana Faussett and Mr Christopher Faussett, the late Queen Mother's grandniece and her husband