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The formal processions used to transport Queen Elizabeth II's coffin to
Westminster Abbey in London and then to her last resting place at Windsor
reflect the monarchy's long-standing customs.
Hauled by the Royal Navy
The lead-lined coffin of the queen, mounted on a gun carriage, will be
transported from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey by Royal Navy sailors
using ropes. A team of 142 sailors will walk next to them to serve as a brake
if necessary.
This practice dates back to Queen Victoria’s funeral in February 1901.
The more than two-ton gun carriage that was supposed to be pulled by the
horses panicked and started to kick, almost knocking the coffin over.
A Royal Navy commander who was a relative of the queen, Prince Louis of
Battenberg, recommended to the new king, Edward VII, that this issue could be
avoided by using sailors instead of horses.
Nine years later when Edward VII himself died, this idea was put into practice again and it has since become an unchanging tradition at state funerals.
Pallbearers in bearskins
The queen's coffin will be transported from Westminster Hall to the gun
carriage outside before entering Westminster Abbey by eight members of the 1st
Battalion Grenadier Guards.
The regiment is one of the five infantry regiments that make up the Queen's
(now King's) Life Guard and is among the oldest in the British army.
The troops of the regiment typically don towering bearskin hats; they modelled
their attire after the grenadiers of Napoleon's Imperial Guard, who were
routed at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
Service Equerries to the Queen, attendants who support the royals in
performing official responsibilities, will accompany the soldiers.
Guard of Honour
Three regiments will play a particularly important role in the procession, marching very close to the queen’s coffin.The Yeomen of the Guard, the oldest military unit in the British Army created in 1485, and the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms are two former bodyguard units for the royals that now perform only a ceremonial role.
The Yeomen of the Guard always wear a red-and-gold uniform dating back to the Tudor era (16th century).
One of their best-known activities is searching the Palace of Westminster for gunpowder before the State Opening of Parliament.
This annual ritual commemorates the Gunpowder Plot, a failed attempt led by Guy Fawkes to blow up King James I and parliament in 1605.
They will be followed by members of the Royal Company of Archers, who acted as bodyguards for Elizabeth II whenever she was in Scotland.
Some detachments from other regiments in Britain and from the armed forces of the Commonwealth, a group of countries headed by the British monarch, will rejoin the funeral procession from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner near Buckingham Palace.
Elizabeth II’s royal house
While members of the royal family led by the new King Charles III will follow the casket, following them will be members of the queen’s royal household, including the most senior officer of the royal household, the lord chamberlain.In front of them will come the pipers and drummers of the Scottish and Irish regiments, and the Brigade of Gurkhas made up of soldiers from Nepal who are part of the armed forces. There will also be 200 Royal Air Force musicians.
– 6,000 troops –
Around 6,000 soldiers, sailors and air crew from the British armed forces will take part in the procession, Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Tony Radakin told the BBC on Sunday.At several points along the route they will perform a royal salute, for example when they pass the Victoria Memorial commemorating the queen.
“For all of us, this is our last duty for Her Majesty the Queen and it’s our first prominent duty for His Majesty King Charles,” he said.