Monday marked the end of Queen Elizabeth II’s remarkable seven-decade reign in Britain with a magnificent funeral steeped in tradition and a send-off that reflected the widespread popularity she was able to maintain.
At Westminster Abbey, dignitaries and members of the royal family gathered for a solemn service. As a tribute to her broad appeal and skilled diplomacy, presidents, prime ministers, princes and princesses, and other public personalities sat side by side to pay their respects.
The burial, which served as both a state and religious service and marked the conclusion of 10 days of sorrow, honored the Queen with the same pomp and circumstance that she employed throughout her life to advance the royal family and “brand Britain.”
The sovereign’s flag-draped coffin was being transported by hearse to her ultimate resting place, and tens of thousands of people crowded the streets around Westminster Abbey and along the 25-mile procession route from central London to Windsor in an attempt to see it.
The Queen’s coffin was escorted through crowds of mourners along the Long Walk in the third and final procession of the day to Windsor Castle for her committal service and burial at St. George’s Chapel, where she was finally separated from the monarchy.
She and her 73-year-old husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, were buried together in the King George VI Memorial Chapel later that evening. The Queen’s father, her mother, the Queen Mother, and her sister, Princess Margaret, are all buried there, which is part of St. George’s Chapel.
Source: CNN
