On the specially extended route, Diana's coffin was carried on a gun carriage, drawn by the Kings Troop, the Royal Horse Artillery.
Diana's coffin was carried on a military gun carriage and accompanied by a military guard, but there were no other military touches. As it passed St. James's Palace, where the coffin had rested in private all week, the cortege was joined by Charles, William, Harry, Spencer and the Duke of Edinburgh.
Instead, she gave a lazy salute to the casket. that has been compared to shooting away a fly. According to royal experts, Princess Margaret felt as though Princess. Diana had turned her back on the royal family.
Lead-lined coffins slow the body's decomposition by keeping moisture out of the casket. Lead does not decay and so remains airtight, preventing decomposition, but also any smells and gases from being released; not something you want if multiple Royals are sharing a vault or may be moved in the future.
THE King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery will carry the coffin of Diana, Princess of Wales, to Westminster Abbey on a gun carriage of the type first used for the state funeral of King Edward VII in 1910. Traditionally, a 13-pounder gun carriage has been used for state and military funerals.
The Queen's coffin was carried on the State Gun Carriage. The tradition of sailors pulling the coffin was brought in after the horses used to pull Queen Victoria's coffin in 1901 for her funeral were spooked and almost tipped her coffin.
The Queen's coffin will be carried to Westminster Abbey on a 123-year-old gun carriage towed by 98 Royal Navy sailors, in a tradition dating back to the funeral of Queen Victoria.
Finally, lead is also used for its weight. A heavy coffin is more difficult to move and more likely to stay in place during a funeral service. This is especially important when the coffin is being carried by pallbearers.
When Princess Diana was laid to rest after her death at 36 in 1997, her sons, Prince William, who was 15 at the time, and Prince Harry, who was 12, broke hearts around the world when they left a simple note reading "Mummy" on her funeral wreath. The tradition has also continued into recent years.
Why was Princess Margaret cremated? In the aftermath of her death, “royal watchers” told The New York Times that Princess Margaret had opted to be cremated so that her remains could fit alongside her father King George VI's grave in a vault that was made especially to hold him specifically.
Camilla may have been at Diana's wedding but she was not welcome at her funeral, which was watched by an estimated 2.5 billion people around the world. Still, to many her absence echoed around the ancient hall. The Queen made it clear to Charles that he could not take his paramour to the service.
The blue, Saville Row suit he chose was actually a symbol of respect for his ex-wife rather than one of disrespect. The suit was Diana's favourite according to royal author Brian Hoey who, in 1997, said that she had even helped the Prince choose it.
It is known that before the Queen, who is the symbol of national unity, everyone bowed. "But that day, it is Elizabeth who bowed her head as a sign of respect for the passage of Diana's coffin, the woman who wore more than anyone else had defied the conventions of the palace."
Diana's former husband, sons, mother, siblings, a close friend, and a clergyman were present. Diana's body was clothed in a black long-sleeved, three-quarter length woolen cocktail dress designed by Catherine Walker which she had chosen some weeks before, a pair of black pantyhose, and a pair of black shoes.
What were Princess Diana's last words? The firefighter on the scene of Princess Diana's accident revealed the last words she spoke before her death in an interview with The Independent. According to the firefighter, Xavier Gourmelon, the Princess of Wales asked: “My God, what has happened?”
How did Diana die in a car crash? Diana suffered from a concussion, broken arm and a cut to her thigh in the crash, but what ultimately took her life were her severe chest wounds. Her heart was displaced in her chest and she suffered a tear to her pulmonary vein that proved lethal and caused internal bleeding.
Queen Elizabeth II bowed to Princess Diana's casket in 1997 - The Washington Post.
The queen's public words about Diana were sincere, as a private letter—made public in 2017—that she wrote after the funeral to her aide Lady Henriette Abel Smith seems to confirm. "It was indeed dreadfully sad, and she is a huge loss to the country," the queen wrote.
Of course, many variables can affect this process. According to a report from Metro UK, lead coffins can preserve one's body for up to an entire year, not only because they are lined with lead, but also due to the fact that they can be sealed airtight, which is said to slow the decomposition of the body.
The favouring of sailors over horses during state funeral processions was entrenched in tradition after Queen Victoria's funeral in 1901 when chilly weather spooked the horses that were due to pull the gun carriage.
When the Queen's coffin is taken to her funeral service at Westminster Abbey it will be carried on a royal navy state gun carriage pulled along by sailors. This royal tradition has been a feature at every funeral for a monarch since Queen Victoria was laid to rest over 100 years ago.
The pallbearers hail from the Queen's Company, the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards. 'It's their role to protect her body, both in life and in death, remaining in the Queen's Company until King Charles decides otherwise,' explained Major Adrian Weale to the PA.
SUBSEQUENT STATE FUNERALS
It is said that the tradition of using sailors to haul the gun carriage has evolved because the horses bolted at Queen Victoria's funeral.
It is traditionally pulled by members of the Royal Navy; when not in use, it is kept at the shore establishment HMS Excellent. A smaller version, known as the Portsmouth Gun Carriage, has been used at the ceremonial funerals of several senior naval officers in the 20th century.
This is known as a “Placing of the Glove” part of the service. While not common in all public servant funeral protocols, it is a way for fellow officers to show respect and do a final salute to their fallen comrade.