Queen Elizabeth II’s Personal Staff Line Up to Watch Funeral Procession Pass Buckingham Palace
19.09.2022 - 19:03
/ usmagazine.com
A final tribute. Queen Elizabeth II‘s household staff lined up outside Buckingham Palace to watch her funeral procession pass the residence on Monday, September 19.
Staff members arranged themselves on the sidewalk in front of the palace as the queen’s coffin was carried from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch following the state funeral. After the procession through central London, the casket was driven to Windsor Castle, where the former monarch will be buried alongside her late husband, Prince Philip.
“[The queen’s staff] were very loyal to her,” Ailsa Anderson, a former press secretary for the sovereign, told Good Morning America on Monday. “She had people by her side who felt very strongly about protecting her and really took on those roles with a great sense of responsibility.”
The employees on the sidewalk included butlers, footmen, chefs and other aides. The police protection officers who helped guard Elizabeth during her lifetime were invited to the service at St George’s Chapel, which will take place after the procession from London.
The queen died at age 96 on September 8 while at her estate in Balmoral, Scotland. Buckingham Palace announced the news shortly after revealing that she’d been placed under medical supervision.
Following Elizabeth’s death, her eldest son, King Charles III, immediately assumed the throne. His coronation will take place at a later date.
Monday’s funeral capped off a week of tributes to the queen, who reigned for 70 years. On September 11, her coffin was taken from Balmoral to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. One day later, it was moved to St Giles’ Cathedral, where members of the public could pay their respects.
At St Giles’ Cathedral, the queen’s four children — Charles, 73, Pri