Several traditional accouterments were present during Queen Elizabeth II's funeral service at Westminster Abbey in London on Monday, including the Imperial State Crown as well as the Sovereign's Sceptre and the Sovereign's Orb, which were also placed atop the late monarch's coffin.
The crown atop Queen Elizabeth II's coffin is the U.K.'s Imperial State Crown. It is the crown monarchs use for state occasions and after they leave their coronation at Westminster Abbey. During the moment of coronation, however, they use the bigger and heavier St. Edwards Crown.
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.
Lead lined coffin
The queen's English oak coffin was made at least 32 years ago and is lined with lead in accordance with royal family customs. The lead lining assists the body to last longer after the burial in a crypt. Lead is said to make the casket airtight, thereby helping to stop moisture from getting in.
The Imperial State Crown was made for the coronation of King George VI, Queen Elizabeth II's father, in 1937. It replaced the crown worn by Queen Victoria. It has a purple velvet cap, an ermine band, a gold frame, and a huge number of gems — 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, four rubies, and 269 pearls.
FOOTAGE has been captured of a man who appears to run forward and touch the Queen's coffin inside Westminster Hall. The clip was shared online with the source unnamed.
Onlookers said the man tried to touch the Queen's coffin. "Some person decided they were going to push my seven-year-old niece out the way, run up to the coffin, lift up the standard and try to do I don't know what," witness Tracey Holland said. "She was grabbed out the way and the police had him within two seconds."
Each item was expertly fastened to Her Majesty's coffin to prevent the crown jewels from moving as they proceeded between locations during the event. The practice prevented the crown jewels from being damaged, as they have been in the past.
After the funeral, the Queen's coffin will travel in procession from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch. From there, it will travel to Windsor Castle. The coffin will be lowered into the royal vault, and her final resting place will be the King George VI memorial chapel at St George's chapel, Windsor.
However, Her Majesty will be buried in her beloved Windsor, in the King George VI memorial chapel. The chapel is set on the grounds of Windsor Castle, the estate the Queen moved to permanently for the last few years of her life. It is named after the Queen's father, who died from a coronary thrombosis in 1952, aged 56.
The Sovereign's Orb is a piece of coronation regalia. It was created for the coronation of Charles II in 1661 from the royal goldsmith Robert Viner. It is made of gold, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, amethyst, diamonds, pearls, and enamel. It has been used at all coronations and events after the one of Charles II.
The Queen's coffin is lined with lead, following a royal tradition dating back to the Victorian era when it was necessary to seal bodies for resting above ground.
The Queen's coffin, which is adorned by the Royal Standard, is resting on a raised platform called a catafalque. It has the Imperial State Crown on top. Each corner is guarded 24 hours a day by soldiers from units that serve the Royal Household.
The public will be able to file past the coffin 24 hours a day from 5pm on Wednesday 14 September until 6.30am on the day of the funeral - Monday 19 September. Those wishing to attend will be required to queue for many hours, possibly overnight.
Hauled by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy sailors will use ropes to pull the queen's lead-lined coffin mounted on a gun carriage from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey.
The Lord Chamberlain poignantly "broke" his Wand of Office over the coffin, and placed the pieces there. Finally, the coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault, as the Dean of Windsor read Psalm 103, including the emotional line, "Go forth upon thy journey from this world, O Christian soul."
The royal coffin is also lined with lead — a tradition in the family — for it is believed that it will preserve the corpse of a person for a longer period of time after it is placed in the crypt. While lead will make the coffin airtight, it will also make it heavier.
Queen Elizabeth II will be buried in the King George VI memorial chapel, in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. The chapel located next to the North Quire aisle in the building, was built between 1968 and 1969 and commemorates it's namesake - King George VI, the Queen's father.
The body can thus be preserved for up to a year. The concept of lead lining may be traced back to the Victorian era, when it was required to protect bodies when they were laid to rest above ground in an airtight sealed coffin.
Victoria had requested that she not be embalmed, a process long been used by the Royal Family to allow for the monarch's lying-in-state. But she made clear that she didn't want to lie in state, instead asking for a military and state funeral.
The body takes between ten to fifteen years to decay to a point where you may just find bones, teeth and hair remaining in the casket. There may also be some excess tissue and clothing fibers that withstood the ten years of decay.
The Queen's coffin was slowly lowered into the royal vault in St George's Chapel, in the grounds of Windsor Castle, ahead of her burial later in a private family service.
What happens after the funeral? After the funeral in Westminster, the Queen's coffin will be transferred to Windsor Castle, where there will be a committal service in St George's Chapel. She will be buried in the castle's King George VI Memorial Chapel, alongside her father, her mother, and her sister's ashes.
Once the Royal Vault lift reaches the bottom of the shaft, the coffin is moved down a corridor and into the vault itself. The coffin is then interred in the vault, placed either on one of the shelves or on a plinth inside.