Funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother

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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.

Video Funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother

Background

The Queen Mother had been suffering from a persistent cold which she caught during Christmas 2001. She was bedridden at Sandringham after her final public engagement on 22 November 2001, when she attended the recommissioning of HMS Ark Royal. However, despite missing many other scheduled events--such as the 100th birthday celebrations of Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, on 12 December 2001; the annual luncheon of the Women's Institutes, of which she was President, on 23 January 2002, and traditional church services at Sandringham--she was determined to attend the funeral of her younger daughter Princess Margaret. On 13 February she slipped in her sitting room at Sandringham, causing considerable concern to her daughter, the Queen, and the rest of the royal family, but she travelled to Windsor by helicopter the following day. She attended the funeral on 15 February in a people carrier with blacked-out windows,(which had recently been used by Margaret) shielded from the press according to her wishes so that no photographs of her in a wheelchair could be taken. She then returned to Royal Lodge. On 5 March 2002 she attended lunch at the annual lawn party of the Eton Beagles, and watched the Cheltenham races on television; but her health rapidly deteriorated during her last weeks after retreating to the Lodge for the final time. She weakened further throughout March 2002, and died 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.

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

Maps Funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother

The funeral

The funeral was held in London. It started at 9:48 am on 9 April 2002, when the tenor bell of Westminster Abbey sounded 101 times, each chime representing a year that the Queen Mother had lived. At 11:18 am the coffin was carried from Westminster Hall in the Palace of Westminster where the Queen Mother's coffin - draped in her personal standard and with her crown resting on a cushion - had been lying in state on a six-foot (1.8 m) catafalque. The coffin was then taken to the Abbey, about 300 metres away, accompanied by a massed pipe band of 128 musicians drawn from 13 British and Commonwealth regiments. 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 royal family were members of the Bowes-Lyon family and some of her senior household staff. During the funeral the Union Flag flew at half mast over Buckingham Palace, and her own personal royal standard at Clarence House (the Queen Mother's official London residence since 1952). After the funeral, the Queen Mother's personal standard was lowered for the final time.

The doors of Westminster Abbey were first opened at 9:45 am, and the first of the 2,100 guests arrived; most of the guests were in their seats by 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 mounted 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 procession lasted from 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) and Chapter, and conducted to St. George's Chapel. Two minutes later, the visiting clergy participating in the service, such as the then Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, processed along the centre aisle of the Abbey. The Queen 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 Linley, 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 about 50 minutes.

The funeral started 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, by William Williams to the tune 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.

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 Datchet. 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 there was a lunch for dignitaries at 1:00 pm.

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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.

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Guests

Immediate family

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

• The Prince of Wales the Queen Mother's grandson

• Prince William of Wales, the Queen Mother's great-grandson
• Prince Henry of Wales, the Queen Mother's great-grandson

• The Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York, the Queen Mother's grandson and his ex-wife

• Princess Beatrice of York, the Queen Mother's great-granddaughter
• Princess Eugenie of York, the Queen Mother's great-granddaughter

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

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

• Mr Peter Phillips, the Queen Mother's great-grandson
• Miss Zara Phillips, the Queen Mother's great-granddaughter

• Mark Phillips and Sandy Pflueger, ex-husband of the Queen Mother's granddaughter and his second wife

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

• Viscount and Viscountess Linley, the Queen Mother's grandson and his wife
• Lady Sarah and Mr Daniel Chatto, the Queen Mother's granddaughter and her husband

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

• Earl of Ulster, the Queen Mother's grandnephew
• Lady Davina Windsor, the Queen Mother's grandniece
• Lady Rose Windsor, the Queen Mother's grandniece

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

• Earl and Countess of St Andrews, the Queen Mother's grandnephew and his wife
• Lady Helen and Mr Timothy Taylor, the Queen Mother's grandniece and her husband
• Lord Nicholas Windsor, the Queen Mother's grandnephew

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

• Lord Frederick Windsor, the Queen Mother's grandnephew
• Lady Gabriella Windsor, the Queen Mother's grandniece

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

• Marina Ogilvy, the Queen Mother's grandniece

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

• Margaret Rhodes, the Queen Mother's niece

• The Earl of Lichfield and Leonora, Countess of Lichfield, 'the Queen Mother's grandnephew and his ex-wife

• 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

• Lady Elizabeth Leeming and Mr Antony Leeming, the Queen Mother's grandniece and her husband

• Mr Anthony Leeming, the Queen Mother's great-grandnephew
• Mr Richard Leeming, the Queen Mother's great-grandnephew
• Miss Teresa Leeming, the Queen Mother's great-grandniece

• Lady Diana Faussett and Mr Christopher Faussett, the Queen Mother's grandniece and her husband

• Lady Mary Colman and Sir Timothy Colman, the Queen Mother's niece and her husband
• Major Alexander Tetley, the Queen Mother's grandnephew
• Mr. Albemarle Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother's nephew

• Lady Marcia Bulmer, the Queen Mother's grandniece
• The Dowager Countess of Stair, the Queen Mother's niece

• The Earl of Stair, the Queen Mother's grandnephew
• David Dalrymple, the Queen Mother's grandnephew
• Michael Dalrymple, the Queen Mother's grandnephew

• Sir Simon and Lady Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother's nephew and his wife
• Mr John Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother's first cousin, once removed
• Mr David Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother's first cousin, once removed

Extended family

• The Duke of Fife

• The Lady Saltoun

• Lord and Lady Ivar Mountbatten

• The Countess Mountbatten of Burma

• Lady Pamela Hicks

• The Duchess of Grafton, the Queen Mother's second cousin, once removed
• Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles and Rosemary Parker Bowles, the Queen Mother's distant relative and godson and his second wife

Foreign royalty

• The Sultan of Brunei
• The Queen and Prince Henrik of Denmark
• The King and Queen of Sweden
• The King and Queen of Spain (one of the Queen Mother's goddaughters)
• The Queen of the Netherlands
• The King and Queen of Norway
• The King of the Belgians

• The Duke of Brabant

• The Queen Mother of Lesotho
• King Michael I and Queen Anne of Romania
• King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes
• Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte of Luxembourg
• The Prince of Liechtenstein
• Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Yugoslavia
• The Hereditary Prince of Monaco
• Hereditary Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (son of one of the Queen Mother's goddaughters)
• The Prince and Princess of Hanover
• Princess Muna al Hussein of Jordan
• The Duke of Aosta

Prime Ministers and Presidents

• Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and Mrs. Blair
• Jean Chrétien, Prime Minister of Canada
• John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia
• Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand
• Edward Heath, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• James Callaghan, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Sir Denis Thatcher
• John Major, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Dame Norma Major
• Mary McAleese, President of Ireland
• Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland
• Georgi Parvanov, President of Bulgaria
• Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prime Minister (and former King) of Bulgaria
• Vaira V??e-Freiberga, President of Latvia
• Mauno Koivisto, former President of Finland
• Richard von Weizsäcker, former Federal President of Germany

Other

• Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States of America
• Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations
• George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen, Secretary General of NATO
• Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission
• Bernadette Chirac, First Lady of France
• Jack McConnell, First Minister of Scotland
• Rhodri Morgan, First Minister of Wales
• David Trimble, First Minister of Northern Ireland
• Mrs. Camilla Parker-Bowles, then the Prince of Wales' partner
• The Duke and Duchess of Westminster
• Mrs. Annabel Elliot and Mr. Simon Elliot, sister of Camilla Parker Bowles and brother-in-law
• Lady Sarah McCorquodale, sister of Diana, Princess of Wales and the Queen Mother's goddaughter
• The Baroness and Baron Fellowes, sister of Diana, Princess of Wales and brother-in-law, the former privy secretary to the Queen
• Major James Duckworth-Chad, Equerry-in-Waiting to the Queen
• The Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry, nephew of Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester and his wife
• Richard Scott, Earl of Dalkith and Elizabeth Scott, Countess of Dalkith, son and daughter-in-law of the 9th Duke
• The Duke of Marlborough
• The Baroness Soames

• Mr. Nicholas Soames

• The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire

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References

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External sources

• "Timetable of Funeral". London: "Daily Mail". 8 April 2002. Retrieved 12 July 2013. 
• "Funeral Timetable". London: "The Guardian". 9 April 2002. Retrieved 12 July 2013. 

Source of the article : Wikipedia