Queens funeral featured very personal hymn Elizabeth herself named her favourite
The Queen’s state funeral included a number of emotional touches, and one of the hymns that was sung had a huge personal significance for the late monarch.
The funeral was preceded by a procession which saw King Charles lead his family behind his mother's coffin to Westminster Abbey, where mourners including President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Liz Truss were gathered.
The Queen's coffin is now being taken to Windsor's St. George's Chapel, where she'll be buried alongside her beloved Prince Philip.
During the service, the carefully selected hymns that were heard were based on their association with Her Majesty such as The Lord’s My Shepherd, The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, Is Ended and Love Divine and All Loves Excelling.
The Lord’s My Shepherd, featuring lyrics from Psalm 23, was featured during the Queen’s wedding to the Duke of Edinburgh in 1947 and was said to have been a favourite of hers.
Ahead of the service, 2,000 guests at Westminster Abbey reflected on Her Majesty’s life, not only as a monarch but as a mother, grandmother and great grandmother, leading to some particularly emotional moments.
As the coffin arrived, everybody in the Abbey stood and the Choir began to sing.
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The Monet by William Henry Harris was played as a tribute to the renowned organist and composer who taught the Queen to play the piano. Once a week at Windsor, as he led practice, Princess Elizabeth and sister Margaret would sing alongside senior members of the choir.
The Queen’s Piper, Warrant Officer Class 1 (Pipe Major) Paul Burns, played the lament Sleep, Dearie, Sleep. It was then followed by the Last Post, the Reveille, and the national anthem.
Before the service, the tenor bell tolled every minute for 96 minutes, reflecting the years of the Queen’s life.
The Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, said in The Bidding: “Here, where Queen Elizabeth was married and crowned, we gather from across the nation, from the Commonwealth, and from the nations of the world, to mourn our loss, to remember her long life of selfless service.”
He spoke of the Queen’s “unswerving commitment to a high calling over so many years” as Queen and Head of the Commonwealth.
“With affection, we recall her love for her family and her commitment to the causes she held dear,” the Dean will say.
Prayers wad said by the Reverend Dr Iain Greenshields, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, for her “long life and reign, recalling with gratitude her gifts of wisdom, diligence, and service”.
The Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally prayed for “gracious Sovereign Lord King Charles, Camilla the Queen Consort, William Prince of Wales, and all the Royal Family”.
As a final tribute to the Queen, the Reverend Canon Helen Cameron, Moderator of the Free Churches Group, praised the Queen’s “unstinting devotion to duty, her compassion for her subjects, and her counsel to her ministers”.
King Charles' final note to his mother Her Majesty the Queen has been revealed as it was placed upon the late monarch's coffin.
Alongside a beautiful wreath of flowers, a note penned by the King was attached that appeared to read: "In loving and devoted memory – Charles R."
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