The Late Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, has had a Lying in State ceremony ahead of her ceremonial funeral which is to happen today, Monday BST. This ceremony is a traditional practice that is observed during the burial of a head of state, where the body of the deceased official is placed in a state building, with or without the coffin, to allow people to pay their respects. In the United Kingdom, this is a more formal and public kind of wake or viewing and is followed by the ceremonial state funeral.
The Lying in state ceremony took place in the ornate 900-year-old Westminster Hall, where state and ceremonial funerals occur. Late Queen Elizabeth’s casket was placed on a catafalque, a movable, raised, platform that is used to support the casket during a Christian funeral service. The catafalque was guarded around the clock by the sovereign’s bodyguard, detachments from the household division and Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish and Welsh foot guards.
On this occasion, the vigil of the princess was observed, when members of the British royal family stand guard during the lying in state of one of their relatives as part of a British Ceremonial Funeral. During the Late Queen’s vigil of the princess in London, Anne Princess Royal became the first woman to ever stand in guard. Her four children- King Charles III, Prince Andrew (Duke of York), Anne, Princess Royal and Prince Edward (Earl of Wessex)- stood vigil for the second time. Her majesty’s eight grandchildren- Prince Harry (Duke of Susexx), Prince William of Whales, Princess Beatrice, Zara Tindall, Princess Eugine, Lady Louise Windsor, James, Viscount Severn and Peter Phillips also held a vigil on the 17th September 2022.
President Joe Biden, the President of the United States of America in the company of his wife, the first lady- Jill Biden, and the US Ambassador Jane Harley, were among a host of dignitaries, officials and locals that paid their respects to the late Queen. Dignitaries, heads of state and royalties that are in attending the lying in state and the ceremonial funeral are, The POTUS Joe Biden and the First Lady, Kenya’s President HE William Samoei Ruto and the First Lady Rachel Ruto, Ghana’s Ashanti King OtumfuoOsei Tutu II and Japan’s Emperor Nahurito and Empress Masako, King Herald of Norway, Prince Albert II of Monaco, Dutch King Williem Alexander, Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf and Philippe, King of Belgians and over 200 heads of state from all over the world.
The Queen was buried in King George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle.
By Cynthia Ainga