Queen is given emotional farewell at service in St George’s Chapel

The Queen has been reunited with Prince Philip after her coffin was lowered into the royal vault 16ft beneath St George’s Chapel following a committal service.

King Charles stood together with his closest members of the family for the hour lengthy service.

Her casket was lowered to lie beside her “power and keep”, the Duke of Edinburgh, who died final 12 months aged 99.

As many as 800 mourners filed into the gothic chapel the place the Queen stood little greater than a 12 months in the past to bury her husband.

Prince Harry and Meghan took their seats beside Prince William and Princess Kate, in addition to their youngsters George, 9, and seven-year-old Charlotte.

The service was performed by the Dean of Windsor, with prayers mentioned by the Rector of Sandringham, the Minister of Crathie Kirk and the Chaplain of Windsor Nice Park.

Following the penultimate hymn, the imperial State Crown, Orb and Sceptre have been moved from the Queen’s coffin to the altar.

The King then draped the Queen’s Firm Camp Color of the Grenadier Guards on the coffin earlier than the Lord Chamberlain broke his Wand of Workplace, marking the top of his service to the sovereign.

The Dean mentioned a psalm and the Commendation whereas the casket disappeared from public view for the final time.

A lament was performed by the Sovereign’s Piper and the Archbishop of Canterbury pronounced the blessing, earlier than the congregation sang the nationwide anthem.

The Queen’s coffin arrived on the Fort after being taken in a hearse scattered with flowers thrown by her beloved topics on a remaining procession.

Hundreds of mourners packed pavements throughout the capital and thru Berkshire as Her Majesty was dropped at Windsor following a procession from her state funeral at Westminster Abbey.

Crowds lined the Lengthy Stroll as one other procession introduced the Queen’s coffin to Windsor Fort.

Ready for the service to start, the congregation could have mirrored on the truth that on this gothic chapel, steeped in historical past, the Queen skilled a few of life’s happiest and saddest moments.

And the fortress, only a quick stroll up the hill, is the place she spent most of her time in her later years.

In the course of the Covid pandemic, the Queen was ensconced within the historic royal fortress with the Duke of Edinburgh.

Philip’s funeral was held when coronavirus restrictions have been in place in April 2021 with the numbers strictly restricted and the ultimate farewell happening fully throughout the confines of the fortress.

The picture of the Queen sitting alone in St George’s Chapel, socially distanced from her household as she mourned, turned one of the defining photographs of the pandemic.

Funerals corresponding to these of Princess Margaret and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, have additionally taken place within the chapel which is located within the decrease ward of Windsor Fort’s precincts and is already the resting place of 10 monarchs.

The funeral of the Queen’s father, King George VI, was additionally held at Windsor. In Could 2018, Prince Harry married Meghan Markle – now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – in a glittering ceremony.

Later that 12 months, in October, the Queen’s granddaughter Princess Eugenie married Jack Brooksbank in one other royal wedding ceremony showstopper.

Earlier than the flip of the century, the Earl and Countess of Wessex tied the knot in St George’s in June 1999.

A couple of years later, in 2005, a service of dedication and prayer was held within the Chapel following the wedding of the King and the Queen Consort.

It was the place Harry was baptised and the place his brother William, now the Prince of Wales, was confirmed.