I felt an affinity for the Bearer party having been a pall bearer for a the military funeral of a colleague who met with an unfortunate accident a good few years ago.
He was a big lad in a heavy coffin and the route from the hearse to the church and thence to the grave was tricky one - nothing like the distance those fine lads carried Her Majesty, but intense all the same with the pressure of military colleagues and the family watching, a huge incentive not to bugger it up.
The raising and lowering of the coffin and getting it smoothly onto and off the shoulders beats a workout in the gym any day.
A fantastic job by the lads yesterday - even when the service was over they had to go down to the crypt/vault apparently for the final positioning of Her Majesty with her family.