Gosh - a Royal Prince marrying an American divorcee.

Who'd have thought anything could go wrong................

Indeed.
Plus, Harry was happy to further break protocol with the holding hands routine as well while walking behind the coffin, which would have been even worse doing that, had he actually been in uniform...!!

Everyone's entitled to their opinion and I don't want to argue the point.

My view is that, setting protocol aside (which the King did for Andrew and Harry for the vigil), both served valiantly and as far as I know neither disgraced their uniform while doing so. Plenty others have, and still wear theirs in retirement. Double standards?

Having said that I could be wrong about Andrew. I remember the Vicki Hodge episode, although he wasn't wearing his uniform. In fact, he wasn't wearing anything at all.

CSM Dean Jones.

One of the Guardsman was a 19 year old from Jersey who as won the Lieutenant-Governor's medal in 2018 when in the ACF.

The pall bearers for Churchill's funeral in '65 were all awarded the BEM, so hopefully these lads will be suitably honoured for a job well-done.

The, "This is how we do it here, and public opinion isn't going to change us.", has worked since Q Victoria (and before). Good luck with that in the social media age. HMTQ got it spectacularly wrong with Diana- and she knew it. Now that the Queen is gone, the republicans will stick their heads above the parapet, here and abroad. I am not saying go all Facebook and Twitter, but read the flippin room!

CG

It seemed to me that yesterday was a perfect illustration of what's meant by the phrase "military precision". Superb.

There are some lovely images on the BBC News web site today. But one that isn't there, and one which I thought was immensely powerful, was the C-17 on approach to Northolt with all four landing lights blazing against the grey backdrop of the cloudbase. Did anyone else find that particularly poignant, and does anyone less technophobic than me know how to get a screen grab of it?

It was a state funeral planned and revised over decades. The coffin was made 30 years ago.
The exemplary showing by the armed forces, some of them the most junior in rank, was the icing on the cake.
It was obvious the late monarch had an input into some of the proceedings, as is required of the monarch in their life time.
That minor members of her household and other, not so notable people, were included says a lot about the planning.

I think the most poignant photo of the late Queen was Her sitting alone at the funeral of Prince Philp...whilst members of the Gov't were getting legless the night before.

Well, of course I am an aged fossil that has little time for 'Social Media', other than PPRuNe (if indeed it so qualifies), but there is a risk to pandering to it just as there was in pandering to TV in the 60's. The only authority that will change things is that of the British people. Unless and until it votes by Referendum or General Election to change from a Constitutional Monarchy to the UK being a Republic then the throne is safe. It has seen far more rocky times than this.

George V was so concerned about the possibility of a communist rebellion here that he condemned the Russian Royal Family to its terrible fate. His mistake perhaps, but Queen Elizabeth II had the measure of her people if not her media and was, I would suggest, the greatest monarch we ever had (though threatened now with the threat of her acquiring that very title). It was never her style and is best forgotten to my mind. A very hard act to follow, but all the more reason to support HM King Charles III now in every way possible.

A reminder that Edward VII was the despair of his mother, whose long reign meant that he too inherited the throne late in life. He surprised all by making it his purpose to build the Entente Cordiale with our dear French friends (well, they were then!).

Quite agree. What better display of leading by example during the Covid social distancing period. A consummate professional in public even though her heart must have been breaking.

Any good?

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....d2f685ed0c.jpg

stevef
As was that of King Charles and the rest of the family, grieving in public during the last 10 days, but carrying on regardless.

That's brilliant -- very many thanks!

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....268a8a8dda.png

Actually for me, it was the oh so gentle touch down that did it for me.

Yep-the Commonwealth now includes two countries that were never part of the British Empire. Perhaps Furbpilot can explain that?

Given so much of what we have seen was planned and seamlessly delivered by the Civil Service, it is also a gentle reminder of just how capable the Civil Servant can be.

Help please on detail : not pedantry but trying to keep up with what I once knew................ I could only identify the right flank bearers: a Gdsn, a LCpl and two LSgts. I looked hard for any evidence of rank on those with right arms obscured, could see none, but equally could see no SNCO [Gold Sgt or CSgt] sashes on them. The small detail differences on SNCO cuffs and collars also seemed absent. However I am struggling with cataracts awaiting intervention.

This curiosity detracts not one iota from my admiration of the bearers' devotion to task: like many, many others I willed the coffin up the steps without incident. I remember Churchill's bearers, in greatcoat order, struggling.

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.