Via Royal Air Force C-17 Globemaster from Edinburgh and via hearse to Buckingham Palace, Her Majesty the Queen returned to her capital today for the last time. The very model of a modern monarch was carried to her London home, the very model of a royal palace, through streets thickly lined with onlookers lighting the roadway with their teleophone lamps, a distinctly modern touch.
(Who knew cell phones had flashlights? I can't keep up with all this newfangled stuff.)
Entering the Palace courtyard, the hearse passed directly beneath the famous balcony where Her Majesty appeared so many times to acknowledge the cheers of her people. What a marvel it is that the 19-year-old princess who stood there on V-E Day in 1945, beside her parents, sister, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, was still with us and still going strong until just the other day.
Now she belongs to the ages.
The Queen's coffin will rest in the Bow Room of the Palace overnight, providing a private viewing her family, as well as for the 400+ staff. Tomorrow, Wednesday, the coffin will be taken in a ceremonial procession from the Palace to Westminster Hall, where the Queen will lie in state until the morning of her funeral on Monday the 19th. Members of the public numbering in the hundreds of thousands are expected to file past the bier to pay their respects.
H. R. H. the Princess Royal, who accompanied her mother's coffin every step of the way from Balmoral, has released this statement:
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On a lighter note, one of the Queen's personal protection officers (Americanese: Secret Service agents) recounts a very humorous story of walking with the Queen across the Balmoral estate:
Country Life magazine recounts more happy memories of the smiling Queen here.
The BBC schedule of the events to come, including maps and pictures, can be found here.
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