Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault of St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on Monday afternoon, the final public stage of her historic funeral.
Before being lowered and the national anthem resounding, the heavy oak and lead coffin was relieved of the jewels that had adorned it since the death of the sovereign on September 8 – the imperial crown, the scepter and the royal orbs symbolizing the Christian world.
King Charles III placed a standard there in the colors of the Grenadier Guards, of which the Queen was Colonel-in-Chief, then the Lord Chamberlain broke his baton and placed it on the coffin, a symbolic gesture to signify the end of his reign.
After ten days of national mourning marked by an immense wave of collective emotion, a private ceremony in the presence of the king and other members of the royal family is still scheduled for 7:30 p.m. local time.
The remains of Elizabeth II will be transferred, along with that of Philip, her husband who died in April 2021 and currently in the royal vault, to the George VI memorial in the chapel, alongside the Queen’s parents and the ashes of her sister Margaret. .
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