The breaking of the wand of office is a ceremonial tradition which brings to an end the sovereign of a monarch. For Queen Elizabeth II, the wand will be broken and then placed on the late monarch's coffin.
Alongside the King, Baron Parker - the Lord Chamberlain who was the most senior official in the late Queen's royal household - stood in front of the coffin and symbolically "broke" his wand of office by dismantling it into two halves and laying them on her coffin.
LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - While Queen Elizabeth's funeral on Monday will be observed across Britain, thousands of people face cancelled doctor appointments, closed food banks and shut supermarkets because of a surprise national holiday.
Her gold casket would be shrouded in the Royal Standard and adorned with the Imperial State Crown, orb, and scepter. The queen's funeral is likely to occur in Westminster Abbey, Britain's royal and national church, following a period of national mourning.
A handwritten note, a crown and a wreath: items on Queen's coffin and what they signify.
Thanks for signing up! Queen Elizabeth II's coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel, Windsor, after a state funeral on Monday. The Queen's coffin was placed on a marble slab in a section of the chapel known as the Quire, which was then lowered into the vault.
Princess Charlotte was captured weeping openly. Another image revealed the eyes of Princess of Wales, Catherine, welled up when she reached the funeral procession. While Prince Edward tried covering his tears with a handkerchief, his wife, Duchess of Wessex, Sophie, was caught sobbing in the open.
After the funeral of the Queen on 19 September, she was later interred beneath the King George VI Memorial Chapel in a private service attended only by her closest family at 19:30, alongside her father King George VI, her mother Queen Elizabeth, and the ashes of her sister Princess Margaret.
British Prime Minister Liz Truss speaks during the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. 3:42 a.m. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby ended his homily with the words “We will meet again,” an echo of a message delivered by the queen during the COVID-19 pandemic to comfort the many people who lost loved ones.
It said Parliament Square had been dusted with sand to “ease the passage of the gun carriage taking the coffin". The Queen's coffin was draped in the Royal Standard, with the Imperial State Crown, the Sovereign's orb and sceptre, and a wreath of flowers requested by the King.
A piece of paper stole the spotlight at the Queen's funeral
Early in the ceremony, a bishop shuffled a stack of papers in his hands, accidentally dropping one of them on the ground. It fluttered out of his hand to the decorative floor of Westminster Abbey, landing noticeably near the queen's coffin.
The ceremonial breaking of the white staff signifies the end of his service to the Queen as sovereign. As the coffin is lowered into the royal vault, the dean will say a psalm and the commendation before the Garter King of Arms pronounces the many styles and titles of the Queen.
It is estimated the coffin weighs between 250kg and 317kg. As Royal Family members are buried inside a chamber, rather than directly in the ground, their coffins are lined with lead in order to slow decomposition. The lead seals the coffin and prevents moisture from getting in, preserving the body for up to a year.
Lance Sergeant Alex Turner, Lance Corporal Tony Flynn, Lance Sergeant Elias Orlowski, Guardsman Fletcher Cox, Guardsman James Patterson, Lance Sergeant Ryan Griffiths, Guardsman Luke Simpson, and Guardsman David Sanderson carried the coffin as millions of people watched the funeral last September.
St. George's chapel has several sections and nooks, including the King George VI Memorial Chapel, which the Queen commissioned after her father's death. The Queen will be buried in the memorial chapel alongside her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and her sister, Princess Margaret.
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.
George's Chapel in Windsor. There, there was a Committal Service open to the queen's past and present staff. Then, her coffin was lowered into the vault. There was another private burial service in the evening attended by the royal family and close acquaintances only.
A new biography of Queen Elizabeth II states she had multiple myeloma before she died.
Nonetheless, many images clearly showed other Royals crying as well. The Duchess of Sussex was seen and captured wiping away a tear during the Queen's funeral ceremony, which was held at Westminster Abbey on September 19.
Meghan Markle cries, wipes tears at Queen Elizabeth II's funeral.
Commonwealth realms
The royal sign-manual usually consists of the sovereign's regnal name (without number, if otherwise used), followed by the letter R for Rex (king) or Regina (queen). Thus, the signs-manual of both Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II read Elizabeth R.
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.
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.
Coffins get tapered to conform to the shape of a human form. A coffin also has a removable lid while caskets have lids with hinges. Coffins are usually made out of wood and lined with cloth interiors. Unlike caskets, they do not have rails that make transportation easier.
“Coffins are normally sealed by screwing the lid into the sides but that does not form an airtight seal. “The modern process would be to zinc-line [the coffin]. Zinc is much thinner than lead, and more malleable.