THE FUNERAL

19 April 2002


You can shed tears that she is gone
or you can smile because she has lived.
You can close your eyes and pray that she'll come back
or you can open your eyes and see all she's left.
Your heart can be empty because you can't see her
or you can be full of the love you shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember her and only that she's gone
or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back
or you can do what she'd want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

Anonymous (from the Order of Service)

2311 Mourners attending the Queen Mother's funeral were drawn from the worlds of politics and royalty, both at home and abroad, together with leading figures from the horseracing world and personal friends of the Queen Mother. 35 member of the British Royal Family were joined by a contingent of 25 members of royal families from across Europe, Jordan and Brunei. Also the Earl of Snowdon, the Duchess of York, as well as Mark Phillips with his wife Sandy attended the funeral service. Also Camilla Parker Bowles was invited. World leaders included Australian Prime Minister John Howard as well as Prime Minister Simeon Saxecoburggotski of Bulgaria (formerly King of Bulgaria) while Laura Bush represented her husband President George W. Bush of the USA. Also the United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, and Nato Secretary General Lord Robertson attended.

As the 2,000-strong congregation arrived at the Abbey, the tenor bell tolled once for each of the Queen Mother’s 101 years, counting down the minutes to the service. Around the UK, millions observed two minutes' silence at 11:30 - the moment the Queen Mother's coffin arrived at the abbey. Supermarkets closed their doors, buses and trains were halted, and many offices and schools fell silent. At 11:15 the Queen Mother's coffin draped in her standard and topped by her crown, was taken from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey accompanied by 128 pipers and led by the Irish Guards, and borne on the same gun carriage used that had carried her husband George VI's coffin 50 years ago. Led by the Massed Pipes and Drums, comprising 192 musicians from 13 regiments, nine senior members of the Royal Family walked behind the coffin in a solemn cortege. The Duke of Edinburgh was flanked by the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, the Princess Royal and the Earl of Wessex. They were followed by Prince William, Prince Harry and Viscount Linley. Queen Elizabeth made the journey to her mother’s funeral by car and was greeted by spontaneous applause as she arrived.

The Archbishop of Canterbury led the readings (for the full speech see: The Archbishop's Speech). Dr George Carey told the congregation that the Queen Mother was "Like the sun, she bathed us in her warm glow. Now that the sun has set and the cool of the evening has come, some of the warmth we absorbed is flowing back towards her." He said: "In the ten days since she left us, there have been countless tributes and expressions of affection and respect - including those of the many people who have queued and filed patiently past her coffin lying-in-state. How should we explain the numbers? Not just by the great length of a life, famously lived to the full. It has to do with her giving of herself so readily and openly. If there is one verse of scripture which captures her best, it is perhaps the description of a gracious woman in the final chapter of the book of Proverbs. Strength, dignity and laughter - three great gifts which we honour and celebrate today." The Prince of Wales appeared to be on the brink of tears while the Queen listened intently with her head bowed.

After an estimated 50-55 minutes, the service was concluded with the National Anthem. The coffin was taken, in grand royal and ecclesiastical procession, back along the centre aisle and as it was passing the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, the Massed Pipes and Drums played a haunting old Irish Lament Oft In The Stilly Night. A black hearse, from royal undertakers Levertons, was waiting at the West Gate and the Royal Family, headed by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, watched in sadness as the coffin was transferred. When the mourners left Westminster Abbey only the flowers on the grass outside the Abbey were left behind. Also the wreaths of the foreign royal families were lying there. One was marked 'His Majesty the King of Thailand', one 'Her Majesty the Queen of Thailand', one 'Daisy - Henri', one 'Harald - Sonja', one 'LL.MM. Los Reyes de España', one with a crowned J, one with a crowned H, one with a crowned B and a crowned C, one marked 'Benedikte - Richard', one 'Albert - Paola', one 'The President of the Republic of Finland', one 'The President of the Republic of Iceland', one with a crowned CGS and others.

After the service the Queen Mother's coffin began a 23-mile journey to Windsor while hundreds of thousands of people lined the route. The hearse, conveyed in a five-car convoy, was accompanied by police riders. Having specifically requested to accompany his grandmother’s coffin, Prince Charles followed behind the hearse in a Rolls-Royce limousine, with only his equerry, Lieutenant Commander William Entwisle, for company. Other members of the family made their way to Windsor separately for the private ceremony. Along the route, at Horse Guards and Buckingham Palace, the Queen's Life Guards and Queen's Guard gave the Royal Salute, as did the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery, with barrels lowered in royal mourning, at Wellington Arch. As the hearse made its way down the Mall and past the Queen Mother’s home, Clarence House, some of the crowds threw flowers while others made the sign of the cross. The spirit of wartime London filled the air as two Spitfires and a Lancaster bomber from the Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight saluted the Queen Mother on her final journey with a fly-past. Arriving at Windsor Castle crowds were waiting and applauding as the hearse and its cortege of four cars drove without stopping through the archway into the Horseshoe Cloisters and the gates were then shut.

Senior members of the Royal Family said their final farewells in a private service at St George's Chapel after which the Queen Mother's coffin was laid to rest alongside her husband King George VI at the George VI Memorial Chapel within St George's Chapel in the Castle precincts. The ashes of Princess Margaret, who died eight weeks ago, were also interred in the St George’s Chapel alongside her parents at the same ceremony. The black marble grave stone, covering the entrance to the vault, was removed and is inscribed by stone masons with the legend "Queen Elizabeth 1900-2002". The dates of King George VI "1895-1952" are added to the stone which was previously only inscribed with his name. The Prince of Wales's wreath left at the chapel after the funeral was made on Monday from flowers - primroses, bluebells, cowslip, snake's head fritillaries, moss, larch and lichen - picked by Prince William and Prince Harry from the gardens at Highgrove and also included lichen from the Queen Mother's Birkhall Home at Balmoral estate. Other wreaths at the chapel also were of members of the immediate family. The Queen's wreath of white roses, mimosa, sweet peas and freesias, which lay on the coffin during the lying in state, was brought back to Westminster Abbey on Wednesday to lie on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is the same spot where the Queen Mother left her wedding bouquet as she left the Abbey after she married the Duke of York in 1923.