State Funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II: 19 September 2022

[Sister Morphine]

If you believe in this sort of thing, then she is with her beloved Philip and her parents and her sister again. It's a peaceful thought.

 

[Lemon Lyman]

Is that Pss Theodora, sitting next to the Crown Princess of Greece?

Yes. It looked like CP Pavlos was escorting his aunt Queen Margrethe of Denmark and so Queen Anne- Marie had Theodora and Marie-Chantel either side of her. Maybe Frederick had to leave early for New York like Queen Letizia?

 

[ElisaR]

So it's all over. The final part at St Georges really broke me.

 

[suztav]

I just saw pictures on CNN …. Duchess of York sat with her daughters in both Westminster and Windsor.

Does anyone known if Autumn Phillips and/or Serena, former Countess of Snowden were invited?

 

[FigTree]

I just saw pictures on CNN …. Duchess of York sat with her daughters in both Westminster and Windsor.

Does anyone known if Autumn Phillips and/or Serena, former Countess of Snowden were invited?

We wouldn't know and wouldn't k ow of they were there unless the camera showed them.

 

[Iluvbertie]

I think if Autumn had been invited she would have taken her daughters in rather than Mike and Zara. I could be wrong of course but to me that would have made sense.

 

[FigTree]

I think if Autumn had been invited she would have taken her daughters in rather than Mike and Zara. I could be wrong of course but to me that would have made sense.

Do we know who brought them in. I didn't see any of the 'women' arrive.

 

[Sister Morphine]

Watching the Queen's piper walk away as he played, as he left her for the last time, actually made me tear up, and I don't cry at funerals. I didn't even cry at my mother's.

Oh my, they just played God Save the King and Charles stood up and then looked kind of broken.

He really looked like he was about to burst into tears. I can't imagine having to suppress every ounce of grief and pain because you're in public, on TV. I hope once he and Camilla are alone later, or even just with his family, he has a good cry.

 

[Izzie]

Crown Prince Frederik appears not to be at St Georges Chapel along with Queen Letizia.

Savannah and Isla Phillips along with the Mia Tindall have joined the royal party.

Crown Prince Frederik has to be in NYC to attend the welcome reception at the UN General Assembly early tomorrow morning and then the Opening of the General Debate as well. Plus he has a full day of events associated with UNGA thereafter. Crown Princess Mary is set to join him in NYC on 9/21 for an additional 2 days of meetings/events at the UNGA.

 

[Lemon Lyman]

He really looked like he was about to burst into tears. I can't imagine having to suppress every ounce of grief and pain because you're in public, on TV. I hope once he and Camilla are alone later, or even just with his family, he has a good cry.

I’m hoping they go straight back up to Birkhall for a break for the rest of royal mourning.

 

[Iain]

They are already inside. But BBC is not interested in showing them, I believe.

Nothing new there then!

They are already there. The last to arrive are always the British royals at a BRF event. The host broadcaster didn't show them. I think they arrived before Biden. After he arrived it was the Commonwealth leaders, with an emphasis on the PMs of the UK and the other realms.

Most people in the Uk would rather see the foreign royalss than former PMs.

 

[Tirilschatz]

I saw Earl Spencer. Does any know if the Duke of Westminster is there?

May I ask if someone knows who the tall grey haired but young man on his left was? I saw him on another occasion but forgot to ask.

 

[Sionevar]

I'm catching up on things that happened before I woke up, watching the footage of Charlotte and George, and my Gods, she's quite a young lady, isn't she? I sense the making of a smart, strong, capable woman in the mould of Princess Anne

 

[kalnel]

Were Pamela Mountbatten or Lady Saltoun there? (I didn't spot them.) They are both in their 90s, so maybe it was too much.

 

[travelguy]

Thank you for what you have done Ma'am. So emotional right now but Long live the king

 

[tommy100]

Pamela Mountbatten was - or certainly her daughter said they had been invited (I think she mentioned a lunch at Windsor before hand) she was in wheelchair at Westminster Abbey so they may have used a different entrance at Windsor.

 

[Tirilschatz]

Were Pamela Mountbatten or Lady Saltoun there? (I didn't spot them.) They are both in their 90s, so maybe it was too much.

Lady Pamela was present, alongside her daughter India.

 

[Iluvbertie]

Most people in the Uk would rather see the foreign royalss than former PMs.

I wasn't referring to former PMs but to the PM of the other realms. They were as much The Queen's PMs as Truss and are now the King's Prime Ministers.

As an Aussie I was proud to see my PM acknowledged.

Maybe the UK would prefer to leave the Commonwealth and betray the major achievement of the Queen's reign - turning an Empire into a Commonwealth.

 

[LaBettie]

Lady Pam and India were in the second row of the section to the left of Mike Tindall.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Here is the order of service for the committal at St. George's:

https://www.royal.uk/sites/default/...sty_queen_elizabeth_ii_-_order_of_service.pdf


Here is an article about the lovely symbolism behind the floral wreaths:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-62954578


I apologize in advance if I missed a discussion elsewhere, but does anyone know why some, but not all, of the royal women were excluded from the processions behind the coffin? The Countess of Wessex and Forfar and the Duchess of Sussex accompanied their husbands in the processions, but the Queen's male cousins proceeded without their wives. And the Princess Royal was included, but among the Queen's grandchildren, only the adult grandsons, not the granddaughters, participated. So I cannot make sense of the rules for women, as it doesn't appear to be based on either generation or degree of kinship.

I also noticed that the soldiers acting as coffin bearers all seemed to be men. Is there a rule barring women from that role or is it just because of the composition of the armed forces?

 

[victor1319]

Normally these Royal Ceremonies keep one in a stabile state - talk, music, talk, music... Albeit one has no program, none unforseeable happens.

But the bagpiper at the end of the church ceremony got really to me!

May all promises of heaven come true for Her Majesty!

 

[sarahedwards2]

What’s the difference between committal and burial?

 

[Iain]

Yes, Philippe would be ahead of Henri because King > Grand Duke.

I think the European royalty were seated ahead of the Asian and Middle Eastern royalty. Looking at the pics of how they entered the Abbey, the Bhutanese were immediately behind Naruhito & Masako, and behind them were various Middle Eastern sheikhs.

And where, I wonder, did they stick the Kings of Tonga, the Maoris, Lesotho and Eswatini?

 

[hereditarytitles]

I watched the whole ceremony on German TV, ZDF. They broadcasted live from 9.00 am till 6.00 pm.
It was a huge event , very impressing, I will never forget it. I especially liked the sermon of Justin Welby (one of my favourites). I also noticed that the camera was almost never on the European Royals who were seated opposite of the Royal family.

what brought me to tears was the picute of the black horse of the Queen which was standing so alone on the Long Walk in Windsor, when all the soldiers passed by. I am always very soft when it comes o animals.

it was a very moving, well planned funeral. May the Queen rest in peace and hopefully Charles will do every right. I am wishing him all the best.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

But the bagpiper at the end of the church ceremony got really to me!

Me too. Apparently this was the Queen's personal touch:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-60617519

"The Queen was then lowered into the royal vault and the Sovereign's piper played before a blessing and the singing of God Save the King. The performance by the piper at Windsor was something the Queen had personally requested, Buckingham Palace said."

Yes, that makes sense. The European royals were probably given precedence over the Asian ones because they are all also cousins of the late Queen.

I think it's because they're Christian monarchs.

In that case the King of Tonga should have been given precedence as well.

 

[Lilyflo]

I also noticed that the soldiers acting as coffin bearers all seemed to be men. Is there a rule barring women from that role or is it just because of the composition of the armed forces?

I'm fairly sure here's no rule barring women. They'd be looking for 8 service people of a similar height with wide shoulders and great strength and I imagine very few women would match the men for that.

What’s the difference between committal and burial?

The committal is the last part of a funeral service, which could be followed by burial or cremation.

 

[sophie25]

Didn't see the Prince and Princess of Monaco at St. George's. I wonder if Albert is due in New York tomorrow to go to the UN General Assembly.

 

[Iain]

Yes, the Spaniards were behind the Danes and the Swedes, so technichally they were ahead of the Norwegians, I think, assuming the precedence is observed from right to left. That may be because of the precedence accorded to King Juan Carlos.


In the third row, Philippe was ahead of Henri (from right to left; he was the only monarch in uniform without a UK order, so easy to spot), but that may be because Philippe is a king and Henri is a grand duke? But, in that case, shouldn't Naruhito have been moved forward too despite his date of accession?

A monarch is a monarch regardless of their title, so it makes no difference if one is a King and the other a Grand Duke.

What’s the difference between committal and burial?

The committal is the service that takes place at the burial.

 

[Mbruno]

I watched the committal service afterward and it was much more poignant to me than the service at the Abbey.

I believe it was Queen Maxima next to King Willen-Alexander who was also wiping tears. She always gets emotional at funerals, even when it is of a member of another family.

Didn't see the Prince and Princess of Monaco at St. George's. I wonder if Albert is due in New York tomorrow to go to the UN General Assembly.

There was a conjecture in the forum that only the monarchs who are Knights or Ladies of the Garter would attend the committal, but that was not the case as the Greek Royals were at Windsor too and, as far as I know, none of them are members of the order of the Garter.

 

[sophie25]

There was a conjecture in the forum that only the monarchs who are Knights or Ladies of the Garter would attend the committal, but that was not the case as the Greek Royals were at Windsor too and, as far as I know, none of them are members of the order of the Garter.

So was Princess Margarita of Romania and she doesn't have the Garter either.