Queen Elizabeth II laid to rest at Windsor Castle

By Manuel Sanchez Gomez

Windsor, United Kingdom, Sep 19 (EFE).- Queen Elizabeth II was buried here Monday evening at Windsor Castle alongside her late husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, in a private ceremony attended only by close members of the British royal family.

That final religious service marked the culmination of 10 days of events marking the death of the United Kingdom’s longest-serving monarch.

The Queen’s coffin, which had been loaded into the state hearse at Wellington Arch in London following her funeral at Westminster Abbey, arrived at around 3.30 pm in the nearby town of Windsor after a 40-kilometer (25-mile) drive.

The hearse then transported the queen down the Long Walk – a five-kilometer tree-lined boulevard – to Windsor Castle as thousands of people looked on and bid their final farewell to the Queen.

Prior to the burial, a total of 800 guests attended the committal service in St George’s Chapel at the castle, including Spanish King Felipe VI and his mother, Sofia.

Other world leaders who were present at the Queen’s state funeral, including US President Joe Biden, were not on hand for that second ceremony because they had to fly to New York for the United Nations General Assembly that begins this week.

The committal ceremony was conducted by the Dean of Windsor, David Conner, who began the service by praising the Queen for her lifetime of service.

“In the midst of our rapidly changing and frequently troubled world, her calm and dignified presence has given us confidence to face the future, as she did, with courage and with hope.”

During the ceremony, he read a passage from the Book of Revelation that had also been read at the funerals of Queen Elizabeth II’s grandparents – King George V and Queen Mary – in 1936 and 1953, respectively, and at the funeral of her father, King George VI, in 1952.

Afterward, courtiers handed the symbols of sovereignty to the Dean, who placed them on the chapel’s altar, and King Charles III brought the committal service to an end by placing a royal flag on his mother’s coffin, which was lowered into the Royal Vault.

Finally, at 7.30 pm, Queen Elizabeth II was buried in The King George VI Memorial Chapel in a private service attended by the King and other members of the royal family and conducted by the Dean of Windsor.

Earlier Monday, the nation came to a pause Monday for a historic state funeral attended by members of the royal family and a host of British and foreign dignitaries in a service broadcast the world over.

The queen’s coffin, draped in flags and topped by the Imperial State Crown and a wreath, was drawn on a State Gun Carriage to Westminster Abbey in central London by Royal Navy sailors and followed by King Charles III and his siblings Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward in a somber procession as a pipe band played along the route.

A 200-strong congregation rose to its feet as the coffin of the late monarch arrived at the 13th-century church, where she was married in 1947 and crowned in 1953.

The service was led by the Dean of Westminster, David Hoyle.

“With gratitude we remember her unswerving commitment to a high calling over so many years as queen and head of the Commonwealth.”

“With affection we recall her love for her family and her commitment to the causes she held dear,” the Dean added.

The congregation then sang the first hymn The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended.

Later, the Abbey’s world-renowned all-male choir broke into song with music that had been specially composed for the funeral by the Master of the Queen’s Music since 2014, Judith Weir.