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.
Soldiers from the Queen\x27s Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, were chosen to lift the coffin during the service at Westminster Abbey ... The coffin bearers carrying the late Queen Elizabeth II at her funeral were specifically chosen to protect her body after her passing.
The horses pulling the carriage were then unharnessed and improvised ropes were attached to the gun carriage so the team of sailors brought could carry the coffin safely for the rest of the route.
Some 98 sailors will haul the two-and-a-half-ton ceremonial carriage, with a further 40 sailors marching behind the vehicle acting as brakes.
On the day of the funeral itself, 2 February 1901, panic broke out when the horses pulling the gun carriage on which the coffin rested broke free.
Jack Burnell-Williams, a member of the Household Cavalry, died on Wednesday, September 28, after being unresponsive at Hyde Park Barracks in Knightsbridge, London, the Army said in a statement. Trooper Jack Burnell-Williams, 18, was crucial to the Queen's state burial last Monday.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the casket at a funeral. They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person.
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.
On the day of Victoria's funeral in 1901, her coffin was to be carried on the gun carriage through the streets of Windsor. But in the bitter cold of that February day the horses pulling it panicked and reared up, threatening to topple the coffin off the carriage.
In morning sunshine, to the lonely tolling of the Abbey's tenor bell, a gun carriage drawn by six black horses had borne the Princess from her official London residence, Kensington Palace.
Speaking on the BBC during the Queen's final journey from Northolt to Buckingham Palace, Clare said: "The Queen's passions were horses and dogs. Racing was the passion she shared with the public. The Queen loved to go to the stables to see horses on gallops in the morning and talk to all the grooms."
The monarchs and their families in the chapel are not in soil to decompose in the way most people who are buried in cemeteries do. According to a report in The Guardian, it can take 10-15 years for a body to breakdown to a skeleton if buried in soil.
Due to the lead lining of the coffin, the casket would be very heavy. It has been estimated that it would weigh between 250kg and 317kg. Eight military bearers have been selected to carry the Queen's coffin on the day of her funeral.
Her love for horses launched when she was just four years old after she was gifted a Shetland pony and grew fond of and adept at horseback riding. Over her long life, the Queen owned hundreds of horses, including numerous winning racehorses.
The first of 15 prime ministers to serve the Queen, the World War Two leader received what was the largest state funeral in history, witnessed by an estimated worldwide television audience of 350 million people.
Victoria died of a cerebral haemorrhage, which is a type of stroke. However, the Queen had been growing weaker for several years before her death. Her eyesight had become clouded by cataracts, and she was a wheelchair user due to her rheumatism.
Jack Burnell-Williams, a trooper, who played a crucial part at the late Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral last Monday has been found dead at army barracks.
Guardsman, 18, who walked alongside the Queen's coffin during her funeral procession is found dead at his Hyde Park barracks. A 'wonderful' young guardsman who took part in the Queen's state funeral has tragically been found dead at his barracks, MailOnline can reveal today.
An 18-year-old soldier has been found dead at an Army barracks in London. Trooper Jack Burnell-Williams, from Bridgend, died on Wednesday after being found unresponsive at Hyde Park Barracks just before 16:00 BST.