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Poignant farewell to Queen Mother Many thousands have joined the Royal Family in mourning the death of the Queen Mother at Westminster Abbey in London, as her coffin begins its final journey home to Windsor. To the sound of 128 pipers, she had been borne by gun carriage to the abbey - the scene of her wedding, the coronation of her husband George VI, and now her funeral. Nine senior members of the Royal Family walked solemnly behind her coffin as it made its way there, led by the Massed Pipes and Drums, comprising 192 musicians from 13 regiments. They included the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, Princes William and Harry and the Princess Royal. Watching their progress along the route from Westminster Hall were thousands of mourners from across the UK and abroad - some of whom had been camping for days to get the best view. A 2,000-strong congregation including the Queen, Prime Minister Tony Blair, America's first lady Laura Bush and several Commonwealth leaders awaited them in the abbey for the funeral service. Around the UK, millions observed two minutes' silence as the ceremony started at 1130BST. Some shops and offices closed as a mark of respect and many schools held special assemblies. Loudspeakers relayed the 50-minute service to the crowds outside and it was broadcast around the world on radio and television. The Archbishop of Canterbury paid tribute to the Queen Mother's gifts of "strength, dignity and laughter". Dr George Carey said: "We come here to mourn but also to give thanks, to celebrate the person and her life - both filled with such a rich sense of fun and joy and the music of laughter." He talked of the "remarkable quality of her dealings with people - her ability to make all human encounters, however fleeting, feel both special and personal." A poem by an unknown author on the Order of Service also set the tone of thanksgiving for the Queen Mother's long and remarkable life. It read: "You can shed tears that she is gone or you can smile because she has lived. "You can close your eyes and pray that she'll come back or you can open your eyes and see all she's left." After the funeral, a car carrying her coffin began the journey to Windsor Castle for the Royal Family's private interment of the Queen Mother in a chapel alongside her husband and the ashes of her daughter Princess Margaret. Up to 400,000 people lined the streets to watch the solemn funeral procession as two Second World War Spitfires and a Lancaster bomber from the Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight made a fly-past. Outside the abbey, Tony Kearns, 60, from Winsford, Cheshire was proudly sporting medals awarded to his father in the Second World War. He said: "I may have been crying today as she went past but I am not grieving for her because you can't grieve for a lady who had such a life and meant so much to this country and for so many people." Queen Mother's funeral
On Monday evening, the Queen Mother's four grandsons paid their respects by staging a silent vigil next to her coffin. The Prince of Wales slipped back into the hall later in the evening for 20 minutes to pay his personal respects to his grandmother before the formality of Tuesday's events. The Queen also made a personal broadcast to the nation on Monday to thank the public for their "deeply moving" tributes to her mother. Speaking at Windsor Castle, she said she hoped the funeral would be accompanied by a wider sense of thanksgiving for her mother's life. She said: "I thank you for the support you are giving me and my family as we come to terms with her death and the void she has left in our midst." The doors of Westminster Hall had earlier closed at 0600 BST, bringing to an end to four days of public homage to the Queen Mother. More than 200,000 mourners had queued around the clock along the banks of the Thames for the chance to spend a few minutes passing silently by the coffin. The final visitors were led through the hall just as dawn broke and the doors closed to allow for the preparations for the funeral. Teacher Martin Humphrey, 37, from Croydon, south London, was the last person through the doors. He said: "I think the Queen Mother was a very great lady and spent a very long life in duty to her country." Date: 9th April 2002 |
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