Monday 19 September 2022 02:59 PM A last lament for The Queen: Monarch's personal bagpiper plays at state funeral trends now
Queen Elizabeth II's personal bagpiper paid a poignant tribute to the late Monarch at her state funeral on Monday - with a moving rendition of traditional lament, Sleep, Dearie, Sleep to close the Westminster Abbey ceremony.
The congregation fell silent as Pipe Major Paul Burns played the traditional song, while a tearful King Charles III, his siblings and children watched on.
Also played were The Last Post, Reveille and the national anthem as the state funeral came to an end and the Queen embarked on her final journey to the Royal Vault beneath St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.
Warrant Officer Class 1 (Pipe Major) Burns is the 17th Piper to the Sovereign, a role established in 1843. The Queen was woken by 15 minutes of live bagpipes played beneath her window each morning at 9am, when she was staying at Balmoral, Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace or Holyroodhouse.
Queen Elizabeth II's personal bagpiper Paul Burns paid a poignant tribute to the late Monarch at her state funeral on Monday - with a moving rendition of traditional lament, Sleep, Dearie, Sleep to close the Westminster Abbey ceremony
Major Burns became the Piper to the Sovereign in 2021, taking over from Pipe Major Richard Grisdale. Burns serves with The Royal Regiment of Scotland.
Following Major Burns' rendition of the song, Johann Sebastian Bach piece Fantasia in C Minor was played as the coffin was carried out of the Abbey.
The service was conducted by The Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle MBE, Dean of Westminster and sung by the Choir of Westminster Abbey and the Choir of the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace, (Joseph McHardy, Director of Music) under the direction of James O'Donnell, Organist and Master of the Choristers, Westminster Abbey.
The State Trumpeters of the Household Cavalry were led by Trumpet Major Julian Sandford. The Fanfare Team of the Household Division Bands was conducted by Lieutenant Colonel David Barringer MBE, Commanding Officer, Household Division Bands. The organ was played by Peter Holder, Sub-Organist, Westminster Abbey.
The Queen's coffin was draped in the Royal Standard, with the wreath of flowers requested by the King.
Cut from the gardens of Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Highgrove House, the flowers and foliage were chosen for their symbolism.
They include rosemary, for remembrance, and myrtle cut from a plant which was grown from a sprig of myrtle in the Queen's wedding bouquet. Myrtle is an ancient symbol of a happy marriage.
As the congregation fell silent, Pipe Major Paul Burns played a moving rendition of the traditional song, while a tearful King Charles, his siblings and children watched on
King Charles had appeared tearful at his mother's Westminster Abbey state funeral that ended with two minutes of silence, the Last Post and the national anthem. The monarch also looked emotional as he saluted when his mother left Wellington Arch in a hearse this afternoon.
On a day of pomp and poignant symbolism, grief was etched on the faces of Charles, his siblings and children as well as the huge crowds who swamped The Mall, Whitehall and Parliament Square to bade farewell to the beloved monarch as her coffin was carried from the Abbey on a gun carriage.
Members of the Royal Family, including the King, marched poignantly behind, while others including the Princess of Wales and her children George and Charlotte, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, all looked on at the crowds as they passed them in vehicles.
The poignant scenes followed an extraordinary and emotional state funeral attended by 2,000 VIPs, royals, prime ministers and several hundred ordinary Britons chosen by the Queen, who died 11 days ago. The Archbishop of Canterbury described the Queen as having touched 'a multitude of lives' and having been a 'joyful' figure for many.
An emotional King Charles arrived in the Abbey after the Queen is placed by the altar
The Queen was head of state but also a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and in a personal touch, the wreath adorning her coffin had a handwritten note from the King. The message said: 'In loving and devoted memory.'
After the funeral the coffin was borne on a gun carriage in a spectacle not seen for many generations, as hundreds of soldiers, sailors and airmen marched to solemn funeral pieces or lined the route. Behind her coffin
