Facts about the Royal Vault, the Queen Elizabeth II's final rest, and Who else is buried there?
Queen Elizabeth II's funeral was held at Westminster Abbey, and Her Majesty is now reunited with
her beloved husband, Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh.
Queen Elizabeth II was carried to Windsor.
This was the last glimpse of the monarch the world would see, as the coffin was lowered
into the Royal Vault, a 200-year-old burial chamber located 16 feet beneath St. George’s
Chapel on the castle grounds.
A final family ceremony was held at the St George’s Chapel in the castle.
This church is chosen by the royals for weddings, Prince Harry and Meghan got married there
in 2018, christening, and funerals.
The Queen’s husband, Prince Philip, will be removed from his current resting place
in the Royal Vault and placed beside the Queen.
What is the Royal Vault?
The Royal Vault, which dates back to the 15th century, is a burial chamber with a gothic-style
stone mausoleum located 16 feet beneath St. George's Chapel, which has been the Royal
Family's preferred burial location since the 15th century, supplanting Westminster Abbey.
King George III ordered the excavation and construction of the vault in 1804; it was
completed in 1810.
It was intended to serve as a final resting place for members of the royal family.
Coffins are placed in the vault by removing tiles from the floor of St George's Chapel
to reveal a shaft through which they can be slowly lowered.
In 1813, workers were attempting to widen the shaft's bottom when they accidentally
broke through a wall into another burial vault.
Inside, three coffins were discovered.
The remains of King Henry VIII, his third wife, Jane Seymour, and the executed King
Charles I were confirmed during an examination.
A smaller coffin with a stillborn child of Queen Anne, was also discovered.
King Charles I's body had been partially mummified, while Henry and Jane had decomposed to their
skeletons.
The Royal Physician is said to have taken parts of King Charles' vertebrae, teeth, and
beard before returning them in 1888.
The vault, which measures 2m long and 8.5m wide, is larger than most royal tombs.
Since its construction, the room has been rearranged several times to accommodate an
increasing number of coffins.
What does the vault look like?
It is a stone-lined chamber 70 feet long and 28 feet wide, with an iron gate at the entrance.
There is enough space in the vault to hold 44 bodies.
Thirty-two coffins are arranged on shelves built into the stone walls, while the remaining
12 are in the centre of the vault.
How are coffins lowered into the vault?
During the funeral, a black-and-white diamond-shaped stone flooring is removed, allowing access
to this chamber.
An electric lift then lowers it through this opening into the vault.
Once the lift reaches the bottom of the shaft, the coffin is moved down the corridor and
into the vault.
It is placed on one of the shelves or a plinth inside.
Who is buried in the vault?
There are currently 24 Royal Family members buried in St George’s Chapel’s Royal Vault.
After his funeral in February 1820, George III became the first British king to be buried
in the Royal Vault.
Princess Amelia, the youngest daughter of George III, who passed away at the age of
27 in November 1810, was the first member of the family to be placed inside.
After their deaths in 1830 and 1837, respectively, George IV and William IV, two additional British
Kings, were placed in the vault.
Queen Elizabeth II’s father King George and her mother were laid to rest inside the
vault.
The ashes of her sister, Princess Margaret, are also placed there.
The monarch’s husband Prince Philip, who died in April 2021 was the last royal to be
interred in the vault.
Prior to Philip's death, the vault was most recently opened in 1969 for the burial of
his mother, Princess Alice of Battenburg.
Her ashes were later moved to Jerusalem in 1988.
Why was Diana not buried in the vault?
Princess Diana received a royal funeral but since she was not a princess at birth and
was divorced from Charles at the time of her death in 1997 , her body was not placed inside
the vault.
She was buried at Althorp House, the Spencer family home in Northamptonshire.
The final resting place of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert is the Royal Mausoleum at
Frogmore in Windsor.
Can people see the Queen’s burial?
The state funeral at Westminster Abbey and the committal service at Windsor Castle were
both televised.
Only the interment service at St. George’s Chapel was a private ceremony with no cameras
allowed.
In a historic first, the lowering of the Queen’s coffin into the Royal Vault will be televised.
Can people visit the vault?
While no visitors are allowed inside the Royal Vault people can attend services for free
at St. George’s Chapel on a regular day.
It is also open to those who have purchased tickets to Windsor Castle.
The Royals still buried at the Royal Vault are:
Princess Amelia, daughter of George III (died 1810)
Princess Augusta, Duchess of Brunswick, sister of George III (died 1813)
Stillborn son of Princess Charlotte (died 1817)
Princess Charlotte (daughter of George IV) (died 1817)
Queen Charlotte, wife of George III (died 1818)
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, father of Queen Victoria (died 1820)
King George III (died 1820) Prince Alfred, son of George III (died 1782,
placed in vault 1820) Prince Octavius, son of George III (died 1783,
placed in vault 1820) Princess Elizabeth, daughter of William IV
(died 1821) Prince Frederick, Duke of York (died 1827)
King George IV (died 1830) Still-born daughter of Prince Ernest Augustus,
son of George III (died 1818) King William IV (died 1837)
Princess Sophia, daughter of George III (died 1840)
Queen Adelaide, wife of William IV (died 1849) Prince Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein, son
of Princess Christian (died 1876) King George V of Hanover (died 1878)
Victoria von Pawel Rammingen, daughter of Princess Frederica of Hanover (died 1881)
Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck, mother of Queen Mary (died 1897)
Prince Francis, Duke of Teck, father of Queen Mary (died 1900)
Princess Frederika of Hanover (died 1926) Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, grandfather
of Queen Mary (died 1850, placed in vault 1930)
Princess Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge, grandmother of Queen Mary (died 1889, placed in vault
1930)