Before the Queen's coffin was lowered into the royal vault in St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, a crown, orb and sceptre were removed. Here's why they were taken off and what they mean.
Prior to the coronation, the orb and one of the sceptres were most recently seen when they were placed on the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II during her state funeral in September 2022, but they've been part of the induction of British monarchs for centuries.
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.
“At the end of the final Hymn, The King will place The Queen's Company Camp Colour of the Grenadier Guards on Her Majesty's Coffin. At the same time, The Lord Chamberlain will "break" his Wand of Office and place it on the Coffin. The burial will only take place this evening, following the funeral.
The Lord Chamberlain — Lord Parker of Minsmere, who once served as head of MI5 — took part in the ceremonial breaking of the wand to signify the end of his service to the Queen as sovereign. The wand was then placed above the Queen's coffin and will be buried with the monarch.
These objects represent the responsibilities and governance of the monarch, so their removal separated the Queen from her crown for the final time. The Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross has been used at every coronation since Charles II's in 1661.
“The reason that tradition exists is as my forebears got close to St George's Chapel with Queen Victoria's coffin on the gun carriage, the horses that were pulling the gun carriage got spooked, possibly by the crowds, and broke their traces,” he said.
The orb is also a significant part of the traditional coronation regalia. The golden jeweled ball, surmounted by a gem-encrusted cross, is designed as a symbol that the monarch's power is derived from God. Like the scepter, it was created in 1661.
Tradition began with Queen Victoria
Once this was agreed to, the horses were unharnessed and improvised ropes were attached to the gun carriage, which weighs 3,000kg (2.5 tonnes), and the team of sailors was brought in to ensure the coffin was carried safely for the rest of the route.
While her coffin is draped in the Royal Standard – a flag representing the Sovereign and the UK, it will have the Imperial State Crown mounted on it. Additionally, The Queen's orb and her sceptre will also be spread on her coffin before she is laid to rest.
“Black is traditionally the colour of mourning – Queen Victoria famously wore only black after the death of Prince Albert. “It could be that the little black Pom Pom is a way of saying 'this is a celebration of the past 70 years but I still miss my husband who was by my side for most of it'.
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.
Why did horses not pull the Queens coffin? The steeds' panic threatened to topple the coffin off the carriage, so the sailors had to step in to carry the Queen's coffin – therefore enshrining a new tradition that continues at state funerals today.
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 orb was kept steady by a small spike on its bottom that fit into a discreet mounting on top of the coffin's oak surface. The crown sat atop a purple pillow, a seemingly precarious spot that was stabilised by a firm protruding section on which the monarch's headwear was mounted.
While the Queen was lying in state, on top of her coffin rested the Imperial State Crown, perhaps the most familiar treasure in the Crown Jewels - a priceless collection of tens of thousands of gemstones collected over the centuries by British kings and queens.
The Imperial State Crown, orb and sceptre were placed on top of Queen Elizabeth II's coffin for the duration of her state funeral, and it turns out the objects were actually screwed down to prevent any mishaps.
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.
Their comrades in a team of 142 sailors will walk alongside to act as a brake if necessary. This tradition dates back to Queen Victoria's funeral in February 1901.
What happens to the pieces after the funeral? They won't stay with Queen Elizabeth II after the funeral or her burial. According to The Telegraph, they will be removed “in the final moments before the public sees its last images of the monarch's coffin” during her service in St. George's Chapel.
At the State Opening of Parliament in 1845, the Duke of Argyll was carrying the crown before Queen Victoria when it fell off the cushion and broke. Victoria wrote in her diary, "it was all crushed and squashed like a pudding that had sat down".
It is said to be priceless. The 317-carat Cullinan II centerpiece diamond on its own is worth hundreds of millions of pounds. It was cut from the largest diamond ever found, a 3,601-carat stone found in Africa in 1905.
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.
In other circumstances, if the coffin's handles are load bearing, those carrying the coffin may choose to take it by the handles and carry it at waist height. The traditional way of carrying a coffin, however, is known as “shouldering” – where pallbearers lift the coffin and bear its weight on their shoulders.
On the specially extended route, Diana's coffin was carried on a gun carriage, drawn by the Kings Troop, the Royal Horse Artillery.