The eight men in charge of carrying the queen’s remains to Edinburgh Cathedral on Monday will not be too many. Her coffin, in front of which hundreds of thousands of people will gather until her funeral, is made of lead-lined English oak, as is that of her husband, Prince Philip, who died in April 2021.
According to the British newspaper The times, this lead lining makes it possible to seal the coffin, since it will be deposited in a crypt and not buried. In fact, the Queen’s final resting place is planned to be Windsor Castle, and more specifically the King George VI Memorial, where her parents and her sister Margaret rest.
INews explains that this airtight lining protects the interior of the coffin from moisture, and thus slows down the decomposition of the body. It would be a tradition within the British royal family: according to the Mental Floss site, Lady Diana’s also contained one.
The brass handles are designed specifically for royal coffins, as is the lid, which must be able to hold the royal insignia.
rare wood
The London funeral company Leverton and Sons, in charge of the funeral, explained four years ago to the Times he does not know when and by whom the coffins were made, which he inherited in 1991 when he started working with Buckingham.
“It is made of English oak, which is very difficult to find” and very expensive, his boss Andrew Leverton explained at the time. The scarcity of wood, added to the lead coating, means that “it is not something that can be done in a day,” Leverton had summarized. Which would no doubt explain why the coffin had been ready for 30 years.
Standard and royal insignia
The public will not see the face of the Queen, whose coffin will remain closed. After showing in Edinburgh, it will be transported to London on Tuesday night. The next day, he will be deposited in a purple-clad catafalque at the Palace of Westminster and guarded by guards.
The royal banner, emblem of the monarchy that traditionally floated over Buckingham, Sandrigham or Windsor when the queen was there, will cover her coffin. Two royal insignia will also be placed, the scepter and the orb, a globe topped by a cross that symbolizes the Christian world.
Source: BFM TV
