The National Records of Scotland: Her Majesty The Queen’s died at 3:10 pm on 8/9/22 of “Old Age”
Hurricane Fiona was headed for the Canadian Maritimes as I wrote this, after deluging Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic last Monday. That same day, an earthquake measuring 7.7 reminded nearly 40 million Mexicans of the experience they had Sept. 19,1985 when thousands were crushed to death in their capital.
But on Monday, Sept. 19, 2022, something else drew the attention of more than 4 billion awestruck subjects and TV spectators around the world: it was the tenth day of mourning and culmination of funereal ceremonies for Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain.
The pageantry we witnessed has, in my opinion, had no equal in recorded history. Furthermore, beginning on the 9th (the day after she died), those who spontaneously came to show their grief by lining the roads near Balmoral were not her courtiers but simply her neighbors, the Scottish inhabitants of her favorite country retreat.
While it is true that a state funeral for a British monarch must follow certain guidelines, nothing dictates what the response of the citizenry will be.
Elizabeth herself planned some aspects of the ceremonies, such as the design of the hearse. It was meant to allow the widest viewing angle for the people who stood by the roads as her coffin passed. The black Jaguar hearse slowly traveled the flag-lined roads and streets leading from Scotland to London for days. Hundreds of thousands of Elizabeth’s subjects paid their respects along the way, some standing shoulder to shoulder in silence, some sitting astride their tractors placed in formation or mounted on horseback, side by side, all showing the affection and respect they had for many years of service.
Elizabeth knew her subjects well. They, in turn, remember how in 1945 she insisted as a teenager and against her father’s wishes, on enlisting in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, serving in uniform alongside them. Just a few years later, she would be crowned their Queen. And it was the same sense of duty shown during wartime that allowed Elizabeth to embody the monarchy for another 70 years, conducting official business until 2 days before her death.
Elizabeth lay in state at Westminster Hall for four days after her journey from Scotland. Hundreds of thousands stood for hours in lines up to five miles in length to file by her coffin. The 19th, day on which Elizabeth was to travel to her final resting place, the queues had to be closed. But this only meant that from 6 a.m. on the mourning crowds would fill the streets leading to Windsor Castle to witness the midday procession.
The afternoon funeral service celebrated in the sanctuary at Windsor was no less solemn than the previous processions, military formations, vigils and marches. Statesmen and women from around the world were present, not to be seen themselves, but to pay homage to one of their own.
As the casket slowly descended into the crypt from the transept, the cameras no longer focused on the grieving family, the celebrants or the notables in attendance, but on a solitary kilted Scotsman as he slowly disappeared down a gothic hallway playing one of Elizabeth’s favorite tunes on his bagpipe, just as she had wished.
As mentioned before, it is my belief that no other events or ceremonies in the Western World have equaled what some four billion humans shared recently (Sept. 9 - 19, 2022) thanks to the planning of and farewell celebrations for the late Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain.
We miss you already, Ma’am. N.B. The official mourning period for H.M.E.R.II ended Sept. 26, 2022.
By: Elena B Odio. PhD
Images: Elena Sims