Array
five years after capturing the hearts of the world when they walked behind their mother Diana’s coffin, princes William and Harry on Wednesday again helped lead the most poignant of processions.
This time, the estranged brothers were reunited in grief with the royal family as they honored their grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, on a final pageant-filled journey from Buckingham Palace.
Under the mournful funeral marches of Chopin, Beethoven and Mendelssohn — played by the bands of the Scots Guards and the Grenadier Guards — her coffin was taken in full pomp to lie in state at Westminster Hall until Monday.
Thousands lined the mile-long (1.6 kilometer) route through London, looking on in respectful silence — and sometimes applause — as Britain summoned all its ceremonial majesty for the sombre occasion.
“It’s like completing a journey, from watching the coronation of the queen in 1953 to paying tribute to her today,” Ian Gammie, 79, among those to turn out, told AFP.
The crowds of onlookers ranged from young to old and included visitors from countries like the United States.
The late queen’s custom-made lead-lined English oak casket, adorned with the Royal Standard flag, the Imperial State Crown on a velvet cushion and a wreath of flowers, began the 38-minute journey at 2:22 pm (13:22 GMT).
The floral arrangement atop the coffin featured white roses and dahlias as well as pittosporum, lavender and rosemary from her gardens at Windsor Castle, and pine from the Balmoral estate in Scotland where she died September 8.
