Crown, Pageantry and forming long queues

escapetotheshedeau

Sep 28

To be a king and wear a crown is a thing more glorious to them that see it, than it is pleasant to them that bear it.

Elizabeth I

The State crown sitting on the top of the Queen's coffin

The recent death of our Queen has been reported in some wonderful television coverage, from her lying-in-state in Edinburgh, the transfer of her coffin by aeroplane to London and then the four days of public display in Westminster Hall. On top of her coffin sat a priceless item of the Crown Jewels, usually kept in the Tower of London. It was accompanied by a magnificent wreath of all her favourite flowers, including some white heather from Balmoral. In absolute silence, a seemingly never-ending queue of people filed past, each one paying their respects in their own way. They had waited many hours, often overnight, in a line that stretched for nearly five miles, moving forward a steady pace. When asked why, many replied that they felt that this was a 'once in a century' occasion and they wanted to mark it personally.

A selection of press photographs from the past few days

The day of the Queen's funeral was a public holiday and the television coverage started at about eight in the morning. It was beautifully filmed with just the right amount of commentary from well-informed broadcasters. We were treated to amazing shots of Westminster Abbey, the beautiful voices of the Abbey choir, the procession of the hearse and lastly the service at Windsor Castle. Every move was carefully choreographed from the lines of ratings of equal height pulling the gun carriage to the horses walking quietly in step. There will have been few people who didn't marvel at the skill and precision of the bearer party as they manoeuvred the heavy coffin, with the jewels of state on the top of it. When the coffin passed her pony and her two dogs, it made it very personal rather than just a formal state occasion.