Royals have united for Queen Elizabeth’s burial in the English countryside on Tuesday morning (Australian time), following a day of majestic pageantry that drew millions of mourners and leaders from around the world.
The King fought back tears during services inside Windsor Castle, where his mother was laid to rest.
The new monarch, visibly shaken as mourners sang God Save the King, paid tribute with a handwritten note on top of the Queen’s coffin. It read: “In loving and devoted memory, Charles R.”
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The Queen’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey
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The note was placed amid a colourful wreath for the late monarch that Buckingham Palace said contained, at the King’s request, rosemary, English Oak and myrtle. The latter had been cut from a plant grown from myrtle used in the late Queen’s wedding bouquet.
There were also gold, pink, burgundy and white flowers cut from the gardens of royal residences.
Earlier about 2000 people – royals, celebrities and world leaders, including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese – gathered at London’s Westminster Abbey for the state funeral for the 96-year-old woman who was the United Kingdom’s longest-serving monarch.
Well-wishers then packed London and Windsor streets for one last glimpse of the hearse that carried the Queen from the city to her country castle.
Flanked by members of the Household Cavalry and with bagpipes sounding, the hearse crawled for 25 minutes up the route known as the Long Walk.
Crowds were silent at first then clapped and cheered as The Queen entered the castle grounds one last time.
The coffin was carried inside St George’s Chapel, where 800 guests were the last to sight the Queen’s coffin being lowered into the royal vault.
The pageantry concluded with the crown, orb and sceptre – symbols of the monarch’s power and governance – being removed from the coffin and placed on the altar.
The Lord Chamberlain, the most senior official in the royal household, then broke his “Wand of Office,” signifying the end of his service to the sovereign, and placed it on the casket before it slowly descended into the royal vault.
Closing the last of the public services, an organist played Prelude and Fugue in C minor, songs by Johann Sebastian Bach.
The King, his siblings and the late monarch’s grandchildren returned to the chapel after 7.30pm (local time) to witness the burial inside the King George VI memorial chapel.
At the funeral in London, Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said that the grief felt by so many across the world reflected the late monarch’s “abundant life and loving service”.
“Her late majesty famously declared on a 21st birthday broadcast that her whole life would be dedicated to serving the nation and Commonwealth,” he said.
“Rarely has such a promise been so well kept. Few leaders receive the outpouring of love that we have seen.”
Towards the end of the state funeral service, the church and much of the country fell silent for two minutes.
Trumpets rang out before the congregation sang the national anthem – God Save the King – attracting applause from the crowds outside.
The Queen’s piper brought the service to an end with a lament called Sleep, Dearie, Sleep that faded to silence.
-with AAP
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