LONDON –
Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin arrived in London from Edinburgh on Tuesday, ahead of the state funeral. The late monarch died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland last week. She was 96 years old.
Like the Duke of Edinburgh, who died in 2021, the Queen will be buried in an English oak coffin with brass handles designed more than 30 years ago and lined with lead.
The practice of burying the royal family in lead-lined coffins dates back hundreds of years.
Because members of the royal family are buried inside a chamber, rather than directly in the ground, their coffins are lined with lead to slow decay. Lead seals the coffin and prevents moisture from entering, preserving the body for up to a year.
The practice dates back to Victorian times, when an airtight seal on a coffin was necessary to avoid the powerful effects of decay in above-ground burials.
Lead-lined coffins have been used by the English royal family and nobility for at least four centuries.
According to Westminster Abbey records, Queen Elizabeth I and King Charles II were buried in lead-lined coffins, as were Princess Diana, Sir Winston Churchill and Sir Francis Drake.
The combination of lead and oak makes it a heavy coffin, so heavy, in fact, it is reported that it would take eight military pallbearers to lift Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin.
The Queen will remain in state from Wednesday at Westminster Hall until the funeral. His coffin will be covered with the Royal Standard and crowned with the Crown of the Imperial State, the Orb of the Sovereign and the Scepter with the Cross of the Sovereign.
After the funeral, the Queen will be buried in the George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle, alongside King George VI, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and the ashes of her sister Princess Margaret.
Once there, Prince Philip’s coffin will be exhumed in the coming weeks and transported from the Royal Vault to the George VI Memorial Chapel to be by his side.