- Memorials to Queen Elizabeth II are ongoing in the United Kingdom and around the world.
- The queen’s funeral will take place Monday at Westminster Abbey.
- The coffin, made with English oak and lead, has a decades-old history itself.
As many people in the United Kingdom and around the world mourn the death of Queen Elizabeth II, British officials and the country’s royal family are preparing for a host of memorials, including the queen’s funeral next week.
Like so many proceedings associated with the royal family, the coffin itself carries a specific history with it: It was made decades ago with a liner of lead that makes it especially heavy.
The coffin is being flown to London on Tuesday, and it will be moved from Buckingham Palace on Wednesday to the Houses of Parliament to lie in state.
But who makes a coffin for a queen? And how is a coffin for a queen made?
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Coffin was made decades ago: ‘Not something you can just make in a day’
The oak coffin was made more than 30 years ago, funeral directors confirmed to USA TODAY. Leverton & Sons, which has served as funeral directors to the royal household said it inherited the coffin made for the queen by another firm, Kenyons.
Andrew Leverton, a funeral director at Leverton & Sons, previously told British outlet the Times “It is made from English oak, which is very difficult to get hold of.”
“Oak coffins are now made from American oak. I don’t think we could use English oak for a coffin now. It would be too expensive,” he told the outlet.
The coffin is also lined with lead, Leverton & Sons said. The lead lining makes the coffin so heavy that eight military bearers will carry it on the day of the queen’s funeral.
“It is not something you can just make in a day,” Leverton said, noting that the coffin is also built for historic royal objects to be placed on it.
Leverton & Sons declined to comment further to USA TODAY.
- Traditionally, coffins for the royal family are made from oak from the Sandringham estate, the Telegraph reported. For decades, members of the royal family have spent the holidays at the estate located in eastern England.
- Prince Philip, the queen’s husband who died last year, was also buried in an oak coffin, according to multiple reports.
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Funeral date scheduled
Memorials and commemorations for the queen have taken many different forms and will continue for several more days. After the queen’s coffin is placed in Parliament’s Westminster Hall, she will lie in state for four days.
Her state funeral will be Monday, Sept. 19, with leaders from around the world expected to attend. The funeral will be marked as a public holiday in the U.K., ending a 10-day period of national mourning.
Prince Harry paid tribute to the queen, his “granny,” and her “everlasting legacy” in his first full public statement since her death last week.
“Thank you for your sound advice,” he wrote. “Thank you for your infectious smile. We, too, smile knowing that you and grandpa are reunited now, and both together in peace.”
People have left tributes outside Buckingham Palace in the days since the queen’s death, including flowers and even marmalade sandwiches, a reference to a comedy sketch the queen appeared in with an animated Paddington Bear filmed for her Platinum Jubilee earlier this year.
The queen, who died at age 96, was Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.
Contributing: Associated Press; Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY
Source Article from https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2022/09/13/queen-elizabeth-coffin-funeral/10361021002/
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