Lying in state commemorating the lying in state After being brought to London, the Queen Mother's coffin was initially placed at
St James's Palace and later taken to
Westminster Hall at the
Palace of Westminster, accompanied by 1,600 troops, for her
lying in state which began on 5 April. At one point, her four grandsons the Prince of Wales, Duke of York,
Earl of Wessex and
Viscount Linley mounted the guard as a mark of respect—an honour similar to the
Vigil of the Princes at the lying in state of
King George V. Prince Charles later returned for a private visit. The
Welsh Guards and the
Yeomen of the Guard also stood vigil over the Queen Mother's coffin. The queue of mourners stretched over a mile along the
River Thames and over
Lambeth Bridge, causing officials to extend the planned opening times.
Procession and service The published order of service included as a
preface the verse beginning "
You can shed tears that she is gone" (attributed to an anonymous author) selected by Queen Elizabeth II. The verse became widely popular after the funeral, and was later revealed to be based on a poem written some 20 years earlier by David Harkins, an aspiring artist from
Carlisle.
Andrew Motion, who had previously written poems for the
wedding of Prince Edward, the Queen Mother's 100th birthday, and the death of Princess Margaret, released an elegy in honour of the Queen Mother. The funeral, code-named
Operation Tay Bridge, was held in London. It started at 9:48 am on 9 April 2002, when the tenor bell of
Westminster Abbey sounded 101 times, each chime representing a year that the Queen Mother had lived. At 11:18 am the coffin was carried from Westminster Hall in the Palace of Westminster where the Queen Mother's coffin – draped in her personal standard and with a wreath of flowers on top and
her crown resting on a cushion – had been lying in state on a six-foot (1.8 m)
catafalque. A note from the Queen was also placed on the coffin on the day of the funeral. The coffin was then taken to the Abbey, about 300 metres away, accompanied by drummers and a massed
pipe band of 192 musicians drawn from 13 British and Commonwealth regiments. Around 1,700 military personnel took part in the procession, The Queen Mother's coffin was placed on a gun carriage led by the
King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery. Representatives from the Queen Mother's Canadian military units, the
Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, the
Canadian Forces Medical Service, and the
Toronto Scottish Regiment (Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's Own) also took part in the funeral procession. During the funeral the
Union Flag flew at half mast over
Buckingham Palace, and her own personal royal standard at
Clarence House (the Queen Mother's official London residence since 1952). After the funeral, the Queen Mother's personal standard was lowered for the final time. Large crowds lined the streets of London to watch the procession. The
Grenadier Guards served as the
guard of honour and were placed opposite Westminster Hall. The procession lasted from 11:00 am until 11:16 am. Members of the royal family were chauffeured to the Abbey's Great West Door at 11:05 am to be received by the Dean of Westminster (
Wesley Carr) and Chapter, and conducted to St. George's Chapel. Two minutes later, the visiting clergy participating in the service, such as the then Archbishop of Canterbury
George Carey, processed along the centre aisle of the Abbey. The Queen left Buckingham Palace in the royal
Rolls-Royce at 11:12 am, arriving with her entourage at the Great West Door four minutes later. She and others, including
Lady Sarah and Daniel Chatto,
Zara Phillips, Timothy Laurence,
Viscountess Linley, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie then walked down the Centre Aisle to their seats in the Lantern. The funeral service began after observing a nationwide two-minute silence at 11:30 am and lasted about 50 minutes. The service was sung by the
Choir of Westminster Abbey and conducted by Organist and Master of the Choristers,
James O'Donnell; the organist was Andrew Reid. Music before the service included "
Great Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542", "
Pièce d'orgue, BWV572", "
Passacaglia in C minor, BWV582", and "
Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier". The funeral started with the choir singing the
Funeral Sentences, composed by
William Croft and
Henry Purcell. The first lesson from
Ecclesiastes, chapter 12, verses 1–7, was read by Dr
David Hope, the
Archbishop of York, and the second lesson, from the
Book of Revelation, chapter 7, verses 9–17, was read by Cardinal
Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the
Archbishop of Westminster. The
sermon was given by Dr
George Carey, the
Archbishop of Canterbury, and a reading from ''
The Pilgrim's Progress was given by the Reverend Anthony Burnham, the Moderator of The Free Churches Group. The Psalm was Psalm 121, sung to a setting by William McKie. The hymns were Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise; words by Walter Chalmers Smith to the traditional Welsh tune St Denio
, and Guide me, O thou great Redeemer, by William Williams to the tune Cwm Rhondda by John Hughes. The anthems were How lovely are they dwellings fair
by Johannes Brahms and Holy is the true light
by William Henry Harris. The service finished with the Last Post'', the proclamation of the Queen Mother's styles and titles by the
Garter King at Arms Peter Gwynn-Jones,
Reveille and the
national anthem. The
voluntary was the
Prelude and Fugue in E flat, BWV552 by
Johann Sebastian Bach, and the Abbey
bells rang half-muffled to a
peal of
Stedman Caters of 5101
changes. The Queen and the Duke then left the abbey by car for Buckingham Palace at 12:40 pm, followed by others in the processions three minutes later. The Queen arrived at the Palace five minutes later. ==Interment==