Final goodbye. King Charles III bowed to Queen Elizabeth II‘s coffin one last time as the committal service at St George’s Church in Windsor, England, came to an end.
Charles, 73, placed a scarlet banner — known as the queen’s company colour of the grenadier guards — on the coffin during the Monday, September 19, funeral. The regal cloth was embroidered with gold thread and was placed at the top of her casket above the floral arrangement, which included a handwritten note by the king. (“In loving and devoted memory. Charles R,” he wrote.)
Charles bowed his heads and stepped back. Lord Chamberlain Andrew Parker held a staff over the queen and “broke” it in half. This tradition is known as “breaking the wand,” and this is the first time the ritual was televised. It symbolizes the Wand of Office, and the break indicates the end of a monarch’s reign.
The Lord Chamberlain is the most senior member of the royal family and breaks the wand to end their service to the crown. Parker placed the wand on the queen’s coffin to signify the end of service for both himself and the queen, who died at age 96 on September 8. Charles will choose a new Lord chamberlain.
The wand was placed in the Imperial State Crown’s place, and the orb & sceptre were taken from the coffin by Dean of Windsor and placed on top of the High Altar.
Charles looked emotional as Paul Burns, Major PipeAs the service was over, the Royal Regiment of Scotland performed. The bagpiper played his final lament, “A Salute to the Royal Fendersmith,” while the coffin was lowered into the vault beneath St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
The piper began playing from the doorway, and then began to walk slowly towards the Deanery. As the coffin was lower, the music gradually faded.
Elizabeth “died peacefully” on September 8 at her Balmoral estate in Scotland. She was first brought to Edinburgh and then to London for a ceremony in her honour. The four days she spent at Westminster Hall in state ended Monday morning when a procession brought her to Westminster Abbey. This was where she received a state funeral attended by the royal family and hundreds of world leaders, as well as hundreds more. President Joe Biden.
Charles appeared emotional as the service came to an end with a performance of “God Save the King.”
After the London service, a procession took her coffin to Wellington Arch. Then, the late sovereign’s remains were driven to Windsor, where she will be buried. She was lowered into the royal vault under St George’s Chapel. Her family will be saying goodbye privately when she is buried with her late husband Prince Philip, who died April 2021.