The ceremonial procession leading Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin to London’s Westminster Abbey and then to her burial in Windsor reflects the ancient traditions of the British monarchy.
Raised by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy sailors will use ropes to pull the Queen’s lead-lined coffin mounted on a gun carriage from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey. His mates in the team of 142 sailors will walk alongside to act as brakes if necessary.
This tradition relates to the funeral of Queen Victoria in February 1901.
The horses, meant to carry the gun carriage weighing more than two tons, started kicking nervously, threatening to topple the coffin.
One of the queen’s relatives, Prince Louis of Batenburg, a captain in the Royal Navy, suggested to the new king Edward VII that the problem could be avoided by replacing horses with sailors.
When Edward VII himself died nine years later, the idea was revived and has been an unchanged tradition at state funerals ever since.
Breeders in bear skins
Eight soldiers from the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards will be tasked with carrying the Queen’s coffin from Westminster Hall outside the gun carriage and then into Westminster Abbey.
One of the oldest in the British Army, this regiment is one of five infantry regiments that comprise the Queen’s (now King’s) Life Guards.
The soldiers of the regiment usually wore tall bearskin hats, a uniform they copied from the grenadiers of Napoleon’s Imperial Guard defeated at Waterloo in 1815.
The soldiers will be accompanied by the Queen’s Service Equires, attendants who assist the royal family in carrying out public duties.
Guard of Honour
Three regiments will play a particularly prominent role in the procession, marching right next to the Queen’s coffin.
The Yeoman of the Guard, the oldest military unit in the British Army, formed in 1485, and the Honorable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms are two former royal bodyguard units that now serve only a ceremonial role.
Yeomen of the Guard always wear a red and gold uniform that dates back to the Tudor period (16th century).
One of his most famous activities is searching for gunpowder in the Palace of Westminster before the State Opening of Parliament.
This annual ritual commemorates the Gunpowder Plot, a failed attempt to blow up King James I and Parliament in 1605 led by Guy Fawkes.
They would be followed by members of the Royal Company of Archers, who acted as bodyguards for Elizabeth II whenever she was in Scotland.
Troops from other regiments in the United Kingdom and some from the Commonwealth Armed Forces, a group of countries led by the British monarch, will rejoin the funeral procession from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner near Buckingham Palace.
The Royal Household of Elizabeth II
While members of the royal family, led by the new King Charles III, will follow the coffin, they will be followed by members of the Queen’s royal family, including the most senior member of the royal household, the Lord Chamberlain.
They will be preceded by pipers and drummers from the Scottish and Irish regiments and a brigade of Gurkhas made up of soldiers from Nepal who form part of the armed forces. There will also be 200 musicians from the Royal Air Force.
6000 soldiers
Chief of the Defense Staff Admiral Tony Radacon told the BBC on Sunday that around 6,000 soldiers, sailors and aircrew from the British Armed Forces would take part in the procession.
At several points along the route, they will offer royal salutes, for example when they pass the Victoria Memorial in memory of the Queen.
“For all of us, this is our last duty to the Queen and our first significant duty to His Majesty King Charles,” he said.
