And so it was. As the hands of Big Ben struck 9:49 GMT Tuesday morning, across Parliament Square the tenor bell at Westminster Abbey began tolling every minute for 101 minutes–one year for each of the Queen Mother’s life. The mother of a queen, wife of a king and grandmother to two future monarchs was given a funeral full of the pomp and circumstance for which the United Kingdom is famous. Said Margaret Connor, 53, a nurse from north London, “It is what we British do well.”
The British had been paying their final respects since the former Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon died in her sleep on March 30 at Windsor Castle. Throngs of people had lined the streets of central London last Friday to watch the ceremonial procession, led by her surviving daughter Queen Elizabeth (her younger daughter Margaret had died in February) and her family, as her body was taken to Westminster Hall within the grounds of Parliament for a four-day Lying-in-State. An estimated 250,000 people stood in lines of up to eight hours to file past the Queen Mother’s casket. The line to Westminster Hall on Saturday and Sunday stretched for several miles across the River Thames. Throughout the funeral week the royal family was reported to be overwhelmed by the outpouring of affection and sentiments for the Queen Mother.
The Queen, in an unaccustomed populist touch, addressed the nation on Monday night on radio and television. She thanked her subjects for their support “as we come to terms with her death and the void she has left in our midst.” Though the Queen made a live (and somewhat awkward-looking) address after Princess Diana’s death, this one was seen as much more of a personal and heartfelt tribute. Speaking from Windsor Castle, the Queen added, “My family and I always knew what she meant for the people of this country and the special place she occupied in the hearts of so many here, in the Commonwealth and in other parts of the world.”
Of course, in great swathes of the Commonwealth and across much of the world, the Queen Mum’s funeral got little more than polite attention. She was remembered as a source of strength for Britons, especially Londoners, during World War II and for being the matriarch of a family that has tried in earnest to adapt to post-imperial Britain, sometimes failing in wildly soap operatic fashion. Parts of British society sought to see the Queen Mother’s death as a watershed, saying it would re-establish the role of the monarchy in British life. Or, said others, it would spur the puny republican movement in Britain. In the end, it will do neither. Britain will carry on afterwards as it did before, with the monarchy as a constitutional fact of life that has little bearing on British society or Britain’s place in the world.
During the brief shining moment of the funeral, however, much of Britain wallowed in the temporary panoply of it all. Prince Charles, along with his brothers and first cousin Viscount David Linley, stood in a 20-minute vigil on Monday evening in a poignant ceremony reminiscent of another royal vigil held 66 years ago at Westminster Hall for King George V. Other members of the royal family, including Charles’s sons Princes William and Harry and his sister Princess Anne stood in the background, heads bowed. Sir Michael Willocks, responsible for organizing the Lying-in-State, told one British newspaper, “We knew the Queen Mother’s own generation would come in their droves, but it is so pleasing to have so many young people.”
On Tuesday Scotland Yard estimated the size of the crowd outside Westminster Abbey at 400,000. They had begun to gather on Monday evening. Camping outside overnight in the April chill was Elaine Harrison, a 34 year-old nurse, who had flown in Monday morning from Belfast, Northern Ireland, because she wanted to pay her respects to a “lovely woman who really was the people’s Queen.” Harrison stood in line for six hours to walk slowly past the body. She then set up her tent across from the Abbey where the Queen Mother had been married, crowned Queen and watched her daughter crowned monarch 50 years ago.
“So far it has been an overwhelming and amazing experience,” said Harrison, who traveled to London in 1997 for Princess Diana’s funeral. Brian Huse, 46, a retired ballet dancer who came especially from Washington, D.C., to attend the funeral, had also been there for Princess Diana’s funeral. “Princess Diana’s funeral was extremely emotional and everyone was in shock,” he recalled. “This day is much different as it seems to be more about paying respect.” Steven Bruce, a civil servant from outside of London, says he came to the funeral because “it is the passing of an era. She was the linchpin for the whole family. [What’s happening now] is the passing on from one generation to the next.” The mourners ranged in age, race and even nationality, unified in celebrating the life of a woman whom Hitler dubbed during World War II the most dangerous woman in Europe.
The crowd craned their necks to see as the more than 2,000 invited guests began to arrive around 10 a.m. The loudest applause was for the Queen Mother’s butler, who had attended her for 50 years. Some 25 foreign royals and various dignitaries from around the world, including American First Lady Laura Bush, streamed into the historic Abbey.
Many people in the crowd seemed especially keen to catch a glimpse of Camilla Parker Bowles, Prince Charles’s companion, who was invited by the Queen to attend the funeral. It was specifically noted in all the papers that she did not sit with members of the royal family. It is believed by many in royal circles that Charles and Camilla have not married because the prince did not wish to upset his beloved grandmother. Increasingly, there is speculation he may do so now.
Queen Elizabeth was the last to arrive for the funeral. Then, to the accompaniment of 128 bagpipers and 64 drummers, the casket was brought the short distance from the Houses of Parliament to the Abbey on a gun carriage. The Queen Mother’s royal standard was draped across the casket and her crown was placed on top. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, led by Prince Charles, walked behind in stoic silence.
Outside the Abbey, the hymns at first could only be slightly be heard streaming through the stone walls. Then within a few moments the sounds flowed from the loud speakers along the Mall up to Buckingham Palace. The Archbishop of Canterbury paid tribute to the Queen Mother, saying that she would be remembered for her dignity, strength and honor. “Those are the great gifts we can honor and celebrate today,” he said in his sermon. The last song to be sung by the congregation was the national anthem, “God Save the Queen.” The thousands of mourners standing outside sang in unison with the congregation inside the Abbey. As the cortege headed down the Mall, planes flew overhead and a Spitfire dipped its wings in tribute. The Queen Mother was on her final journey home–to be buried at Windsor Castle next to her husband, George VI–“set free,” as Andrew Motion wrote, “from self, from sense, from history.”
