State funerals in the United Kingdom

Other state funerals

State funerals of distinguished citizens have followed a similar pattern to those of the monarch, except for the location of the funeral and burial. Churchill's body was taken by gun carriage from Westminster Hall (where it had lain in state) to

History

Allowing the body of a monarch or nobleman to lie in state (for the public to pay their respects) is a long-established custom dating back many centuries, and is analogous to the once widespread practice of laying out a corpse for mourners at their home prior to a funeral. The use of Westminster Hall for this purpose, though, is comparatively modern, having begun with the state funeral of William Gladstone in 1898 (until 1882 the hall had been in use as law courts, and would not have been available for state events at short notice). The first monarch to lie in state there was Edward VII in 1910, and the first consort Queen Mary (1953).^[20] Monarchs in the 19th century all lay in state in Windsor Castle. In the 18th century Kensington Palace was often used, while in the 17th century the Palace of Whitehall was generally preferred. In earlier times, entry to the lying in state had been restricted to the gentry and nobility, but following the death of King George III in 1820 the public at large were admitted to the lying in state at Windsor Castle (where around 30,000 people filed past the late king's coffin in the two days before his funeral); this set the pattern for subsequent monarchs (with the exception of Queen Victoria, who had stipulated that her body should not lie in state).^[4]

Beforehand, the body will often have lain in a private room or chapel elsewhere (e.g. At the place of death) for private viewing. Both George V and George VI died at Sandringham and their bodies lay in the church there for a time, watched over by estate workers and gamekeepers; whereas the body of Edward VII lay in the throne room in Buckingham Palace. Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle; her body lay in the ballroom there for two days, allowing estate workers and family members to pay their respects, before being transported to Edinburgh, where it lay overnight in the Throne Room at Holyrood House prior to a public lying in state in St Giles' Cathedral.^[21] It then lay overnight in the Bow Room at Buckingham Palace, before being taken in procession to Westminster Hall for the public lying in state.^[22]

Rites and ceremonies

Pre-1700: Heraldic funerals

As well as the mourners, the horses were dressed all in black, and it was customary for black drapes to be hung along the route of the procession. Color was provided by the heralds, who wore tabards over their mourning cloaks and carried the late monarch's achievements in the procession. Colorful heraldic banners were also carried at various points in the procession. The coffin was borne on a horse-drawn bier or 'chariot' and covered by a richly embroidered pall. Those of the highest rank in society were distinguished by having a canopy carried over their coffin, which remained held in place for the duration of the funeral service.

From the fourteenth century onwards it became customary for a lifelike wooden

Many of the above funeral practices persisted well into the nineteenth century. At the funeral of

At this time, and indeed in previous centuries, the procession at a state funeral was very clearly a state procession: thus, as well as members of the late monarch's household, it usually included the peerage, the privy council, the judiciary and other state officeholders. When King William IV attended the funeral of his late brother George IV, the

These funerals took place after sunset. At the funeral of William IV, for example, the procession from the lying in state set off at 8 pm; the

A tradition of firing 'minute guns' during the funeral procession is one that has been followed for over 300 years. Indeed, in 1830 and 1837 the guns began at 4 a.m., and they continued firing: once every five minutes for the next seventeen hours, and then once every minute from 9 p.m. Until the end of the ceremony.

Non-royal state funerals in the 19th century were very similar to those for monarchs, even down to a herald reading the style and titles of the deceased, and leading members of their household carrying white staves and breaking them at the graveside. One striking exception, though, was the state funeral of William Gladstone, which took place entirely without military involvement. Instead, the members of the Lords and the Commons walked in procession, each led by their respective presiding officer.^[27]

The funeral of Queen Victoria: an innovative approach

The state funeral of Queen Victoria took place in February 1901; it had been 64 years since the last burial of a monarch. Victoria left strict instructions regarding the service and associated ceremonies and instituted a number of changes, several of which set a precedent for state (and indeed ceremonial) funerals that have taken place since. First, she disliked the preponderance of funereal black; henceforward, there would be no black cloaks, drapes or canopy, and Victoria requested a white pall for her coffin. Second, she expressed a desire to be buried as "a soldier's daughter".^[28] The procession, therefore, became much more a military procession, with the peers, privy counsellors and judiciary no longer taking part en masse. Her pallbearers were equerries rather than dukes (as had previously been customary), and for the first time, a gun carriage was employed to convey the monarch's coffin. Third, Victoria requested that there should be no public lying in state. This meant that the only event in London on this occasion was a gun carriage procession from one railway station to another: Victoria having died at Osborne House (on the Isle of Wight), her body was conveyed by boat and train to Waterloo Station, then by gun carriage to Paddington Station, and thence by train to Windsor for the funeral itself. On the train's arrival in Windsor the horses that were formed up at the station broke away from the gun carriage, necessitating the recruitment of a nearby contingent of sailors to pull the coffin.^[29]

The rare sight of a state funeral cortège travelling by ship provided a striking spectacle: Victoria's body was carried on board HMY Alberta from Cowes to Gosport, with a suite of yachts following conveying the new king, Edward VII, and other mourners. Minute guns were fired by the assembled fleet as the yacht passed by. Victoria's body remained on board ship overnight (with Royal Marines keeping vigil) before being conveyed by gun carriage to the railway station the following day for the train journey to London.

Since 1901: innovation becomes tradition

State funerals since have in many respects followed the template set by Queen Victoria, but with the public lying in state reinstated. (The use of Westminster Hall for this purpose immediately proved popular, with over a quarter of a million people taking the opportunity to file past the coffin in 1910;^[30] its use as the primary venue for lyings-in-state is now well-entrenched.) Even the unintended drawing of the hearse by a Royal Guard of sailors (from HMS Excellent) became tradition almost immediately when the royal coffin was further conveyed to the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore two days later, at the command of King Edward, by means of the same naval detachment.^[29]

The use of Westminster Hall led to the establishment of another tradition: the practice of tolling Big Ben as the coffin left Westminster for Windsor on the day of the funeral, sounding as many strokes as there were years in the dead monarch's life.^[31] This was first done for King Edward VII, and repeated for George V, George VI and Elizabeth II.^[32][33]

The State procession for the

An innovation following the death of Elizabeth II was the use of motor vehicles in the funeral processions. Throughout the 20th century, railway trains had been used to move the body of the deceased monarch to London and from there to Windsor; and at each location the coffin was transported using a gun carriage (and those accompanying it in procession, if not walking or riding, rode in horse-drawn carriages from the Royal Mews).^[4] In 2022, by contrast, an RAF aircraft took the Queen's body from Edinburgh to London, and a motor hearse was used for most of the journey to Windsor.^[37] Hearses had been used for private royal funerals since the 1930s,^[4] but this was the first time one had been used for a deceased monarch. Likewise, state cars were used in preference to carriages for the first time in the formal processions.

Entitlement

The honour of a state funeral is usually reserved for the

Many newspapers and individuals continue to speculate that the spouse of a monarch is entitled to a state funeral,[40]^[41] however this is untrue and most spouses and widows of monarchs have received a Royal Ceremonial Funeral.^[42]

Distinguishing between a state funeral and a ceremonial funeral

Many of the features of a state funeral are shared by other types of funerals, and distinguishing between them is not easy. A ceremonial funeral, like a state funeral, often has a lying in state, a procession with a gun carriage and military contingents, and a funeral service attended by state representatives, both domestic and foreign. One clear distinction, however, is that state funerals (like

The visual distinction usually referred to is that in a state funeral, the gun carriage bearing the coffin is drawn by sailors from the

Another distinction made between a state funeral and a ceremonial funeral is that a state funeral for a distinguished subject requires a message from the Sovereign to each of the Houses of Parliament, under the

List of state, royal and ceremonial funerals

Members of the Royal Family

State funerals

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2021)

Ceremonial funerals

Private funerals since 1910

^{[43] a} The former

Outside the Royal Family

State funerals

Several other notable people and former prime ministers have been awarded a full state funeral: (Some of the following may not have been state funerals in the strictest sense of the term, even though some sources refer to them as such.)

Ceremonial funerals

Offers of state funerals

• 1881: Upon his death, the estate of Benjamin Disraeli was offered a state funeral by William Ewart Gladstone, Prime Minister at the time. In his will Disraeli had made it clear that he did not want a state funeral and that he wanted to be buried in St Michael and All Angels Church, Hughenden next to his wife. There was later a memorial service in Westminster Abbey.^{[citation needed]}
• 1910: The famous nurse and statistician Florence Nightingale was offered a state funeral, but her family opted for a private ceremony.^[46]
• 2013: There was some speculation at the time of her death that Margaret Thatcher would be accorded a state funeral, but the government announced that she would not receive a state funeral "in accordance with her own wishes".^[47][48] Instead, she was accorded a ceremonial funeral with full military honours at St Paul's Cathedral, as authorised by Queen Elizabeth II.^[49]

Devolved administrations

There is no formalised process or convention for how the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland commemorate important figures. The deaths of

See also

• Funeral directors to the Royal Household

References