Queen Elizabeth. The second was honored with an elaborate and poignant
state funeral carried out with precision timing in London today before
being taken to her final resting place at Windsor Castle are Malcolm
Brandon was there to witness a day like no other in most lifetimes.
The beginning of the end of 10. Days of mourning started serenely.
Just after dawn. Christina Khiry from Britain's Royal Air Force,
the last of 400,000 citizens to make the pilgrimage to Westminster
Hall, had her moment with the longest reigning monarch in British
history.
Then heads of state from across the globe filed into Westminster
Abbey, Queen Elizabeth and witness a pageant of imagery and symbolism
that perhaps will never be seen again.
President Biden took his place amongst what was perhaps the biggest
gathering of world leaders in decades.
No invitations were extended to the authoritarians in Russia, Belarus
or Myanmar.
Bells tolled 96 times once for every year of the Queen's life as
a bearer party from the Grenadier Guards carried the coffin from
Westminster Hall shrouded in the royal standard. The casket was decorated
with the Imperial State crown and the scepter symbols of the monarchs,
godly and earthly powers.
Handwritten card from King Charles
nestled in the flowers. The coffin was lowered onto 1/19 century
gun carriage used for the final journeys of every British monarch
since Queen Victoria
As well as the wartime prime minister, Winston Churchill.
As tradition dictates. Sailors hold the carriage, the short distance
to Westminster Abbey because horses were deemed to be too skittish.
King Charles fought to keep his emotions under control. As a slow
march, He accompanied his mother and lead the nation.
In the rear. The mass bands of pipes and drums played a final lament.
Was the sound of Scotland, where the queen felt most at home and
where she died.
The funeral has been years in the planning.
And the Queen as head of the Church of England and defender of the
nation's faiths was intricately involved in selecting the music and
order of service. The dean of Westminster, David Hoyle received her
body into the abbey, where almost three quarters of a century ago
she was first married and then crowned queen in grief.
And also in in profound Thanksgiving.
We come to this house of God?
To a place of prayer.
To a church where remembrance and hope
Our sacred duties.
We gather from across the nation.
From the Commonwealth.
And from the nations of the world.
To mourn our loss.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, tribute to the Queen's
life of inspirational service. He talked of the world sense of grief
and had sharp words for some elected Politicians,
Majesty famously declared.
On a 21st birthday broadcast.
That her whole life would be dedicated to serving the nation and
Commonwealth.
Rarely
Has such a promise being so well kept.
People.
Of loving service are rare in any walk of life.
Leaders of loving service.
Are still rare.
But in all cases, those who serve will be loved and remembered when
those who cling to power and privileges.
Are long forgotten.
Fanfare heralded the start of two minutes, Silence observed across
the land.
The national anthem brought the service to a close. The British people
are becoming accustomed to the new lyrics of God. Save the King.
Charles
was front and center of today's pageantry, but remains silent and
alone with his thoughts. These were his words to the nation the day
after the queen died, as the queen herself did with such unswerving
devotion.
I, too now solemnly pledged myself.
Throughout the remaining time. God grants me.
To uphold the constitutional principles at the heart of our nation.
And wherever you may live in the United Kingdom or in the realms
and territories across the world.
And whatever may be your background or beliefs.
I shall endeavor to serve you with loyalty, respect.
And love.
As I have throughout my life, That's the gun carriage was hauled
through London's most majestic quarters, trailing a cortege more
than a mile long, there was a sense that this was not just a funeral,
but also a declaration of British intent and identity after a period
in which the nation has been uncertain of its place in the world.
Charles has ascended the throne at a difficult time.
Do you think the monarchy is secure for the immediate future? I think
the monarchy is more than secure for for the you know, for as far
as I can see, I mean, you never know what's coming down down the
track. Robert Hardman is the author of Queen of Our Times and a leading
British royal expert. The King is very popular. There's been a huge
groundswell of support for him.
His heir, William and Catherine, his wife. I mean, they are very,
very solid Duo now. Well bedded in as part of the national landscape,
if you like, but less confident view comes from Rob Watson, political
correspondent of the BBC World Service, The danger they face is much
more one of demographics. All the polling suggests that King Charles
the monarchy, the Queen, hugely popular
The older you are and the whiter you are amongst younger people and
amongst ethnic minorities. The monarchy. The idea of it in King Charles
are not so popular. I don't think it's an existential threat, but
it shows that there is a sort of challenge to keep the affections
of British people. Onside procession ended at London's Wellington
Arch bearer party solemnly placed the queen's coffin in the state.
Believing of London was through some of the capital's poorer districts
as the hearse made its way to Windsor and her final resting place.
Slowly. The cortege made its way along the Long walk of Windsor Great
Park, where the queen used to ride.
It wasn't just the people who solemnly waited to say farewell. Her
favorite horse. The ground coffin passed.
The committal inside Windsor Castle's George's Chapel was a briefer,
more intimate service at Westminster.
The finality of it all became clear as the instruments of terrain
were removed from the coffin. The scepter the orb, the crown.
A pipe Major played a Scottish lament as the casket was lowered into
the vault where she was interred next to her late husband, Prince
Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh.
In life, the queen of work to the sound of the pipes, and there was
a haunting symmetry.
But she finally disappeared from view.
And that was the end of the public ceremonies. After the queen's
body was lowered into the vault, it was moved to the memorial chapel
inside ST George's. It was the end of a quite extraordinary day,
Judy
Extraordinary for sure, Malcolm and you mentioned what a difficult
time of this is. As King Charles, the third ascends to the throne.
What are some of the challenges he will be facing now?
But we're waking up to a new Britain now. And one of the key things
that King Charles has to do is to do what his mother did so well
and that is to unite the country. The nation. The clue is in the
name United Kingdom, but it's been fairly fractured. Over the past
few years. The Scots have been trying to get independence, and it
remains to be seen whether or not those
Calls can be dampened down, also that there might be problems in
Northern Ireland, possibly for those unionists. That part of the
country has always been seen as possibly the most loyal in the union
because Protestants outnumbered Catholics, but a new census is coming
out, which shows that that's going to change in the Catholics are
going to outnumber the Protestants and so
There may be calls possibly for there to be a United Ireland and
that is something that Prince Charles may have to deal with, but
one of what he has to do, really, as well as to make sure that the
monarchy evolves and becomes relevant to today's society. And he's
helped by the fact that many people here aren't really prepared to
have an elected head of state. The idea of there being a President
Boris Johnson or President Tony Blair is an ethno to most people.
So it may seem like something from a bygone age, but people here
seem to like the idea of a constitutional monarchy.
It sounds like a very full plate. Indeed. Malcolm Bradbury joining
us from London on this historic day, Malcolm Thank you. Thank you,