The funeral of the longest-reigning crowned head in three and a half centuries takes place on Monday. The ceremony promises to be one of the most demanding from a logistical, security and protocol point of view, ever organized in history.
The last tributes to Elizabeth II involve the movement and reception of several hundred dignitaries from all over the world at the center of a human tide probably numbering several million Britons.
The UK’s last state funeral honored World War II hero Winston Churchill in 1965. One hundred and twelve country leaders attended.
As of the weekend’s last count, representatives from 121 countries had confirmed their presence in London, including 19 monarchs, 46 presidents and 20 prime ministers, including Justin Trudeau.
In total, the delegations will gather at Westminster Abbey more than 500 current and former Heads of State and Heads of Government from foreign countries. The church can accommodate 2200 people.
The puzzle must also respect strict and binding protocol rules. Diplomatic incidents or simple errors of taste threaten from all sides.
The Guardian reported that several members of Middle Eastern or African monarchies would not show up in London, refusing to suffer certain affronts, such as being transported to Westminster Abbey by bus or having to attend the funeral mass from a pew in the background of “St. Peter’s Collegiate Church” (the official name of Westminster Abbey). Front seats are reserved for members of the Royal Family, representatives of the British Parliament and delegates from Commonwealth countries, including Canada.
The protocol is intended to be the showcase of power, a concentrate of traditions and order in the state. Certain solemn codifications born in the courts of the Middle Ages in Europe, pushed to their climax under Louis XIV in France, still persist in our democracies of the XXIe century. We see this with the hierarchy of guests at the opening sessions of legislatures. Quebec also has its protocol service.
The ceremonies deployed over ten days follow two plans: Operation London Bridge and Operation Unicorn, an annex providing for the event that the Queen should die in Scotland, which happened. The first drafts of these plans date back to the 1960s.
The code phrase ” London Bridge is down was used to announce the Queen’s death on September 8 to British Prime Minister Liz Truss and other senior members of UK parliaments. The strictly orchestrated sequel involves the Church of England, the London Metropolitan Police Service, the British Army, public transport, airports and more.
Veils and uniforms
The funeral as such is organized by the count-marshal (Earl Marshallisten)) also responsible for the coronation of the new King Charles III. Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18e Duke of Norfolk, occupies this function created in 1135.
This is the highest hereditary office in the kingdom not attached to the ruling house. For the record, in order of precedence up to the royal summit, theEarl Marshal is lower than that of the Lord Grand Chamberlain, but superior to the Lord Grand Admiral. Ceremony organizers have to deal with dozens of similar rungs on the scale of the formal hierarchy.
Titles, addresses and greetings also require a great deal of knowledge and finesse. For example, you must address the count-marshal by calling him Your Grace or even The Very Noble. Like many dignitaries, he wears clothes that do not escape the strictest rules, in his case an embroidered red frock coat and a feathered cocked hat.
During her long life, the queen in official representation also followed dress standards of immutable rigidity: never pants, skirts cut below the knee worn over flesh-colored tights, gloved hands, etc. All members of the royal family basically follow the same guidelines.
Britain’s love of function suits seems unrivaled anywhere in the world. Black, the color of mourning in the West, will obviously be in place at Westminster for the vast majority of guests. All women should opt for this color by adding a veil or veil. Those close to the sovereign, including the new king, will wear military costumes instead.
There could be two notable exceptions. Prince Harry, yet a former Navy officer, can no longer wear his uniform since he renounced his royal titles. His uncle, Prince Andrew, brother of Charles III, also a former officer, humiliated since the scandal of the Epstein affair, no longer holds royal functions. He might have to settle for the frock coat like a lesser nobleman or snob. King Charles III, however, has the privilege of exceptionally allowing his brother and son to wear their Royal Navy uniform.