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Coffin of the Queen: The lead makes the coffin heavy, eight pallbearers are required
Photo: Sarah Meyssonnier / dpa
Queen Elizabeth II's coffin is lined with a layer of lead.
This tradition of the British royals is intended to seal the coffin airtight and keep moisture out.
This helps keep the corpse longer after burial, slowing down the decomposition process.
The lead should also ensure that odors cannot escape so easily.
This is important because the Queen is not buried in a classic cemetery, but in a crypt.
Specifically in the King George VI Memorial Chapel within the Chapel of St George at Windsor Castle.
Disadvantage: The metal makes the coffin much heavier.
Eight pallbearers will be needed for him when the Queen is buried that evening.
The coffin of Prince Philip, the Queen's husband who died in April 2021, also has such a lead lining.
Coffin made decades ago
The toxic heavy metal should not be visible from the outside.
According to The Times, the coffin was made from English oak at least 32 years ago.
This wood is now used less and less, most wooden coffins are made of American oak.
The London company Leverton & Sons has been the undertaker of the royal family, but only since 1991. The coffin for the Queen was already ready at the time and the company says it does not know who made it, as the newspaper reported.
The coffin also has an extra-sturdy lid, because the royal crown, scepter and orb lie on it during the laying out and the funeral service.
The coffin's brass handles were designed specifically for royal coffins by a company in Birmingham, according to the Times.
"It's not something you can do in a day," said Andrew Leverton, who runs the royal funeral home.
Heather, sweet peas and dahlias as coffin decorations
The public first saw the Queen's coffin on Sunday last week.
It was adorned with the Scottish royal standard and a wreath of white heather, dahlias and sweet peas from the gardens of Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
Elizabeth II died here on September 8th at the age of 96.
After being laid out at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland, the coffin was carried by a glass-enclosed hearse in procession with King Charles III last Monday.
and other members of the royal family in St. Giles Cathedral.
A Royal Air Force plane finally brought the coffin from Scotland to London on Tuesday, where it was ceremoniously laid out in Westminster Hall on Wednesday until the funeral service.
Countless people filed past the coffin to say goodbye to the British Queen.
Her remains will be taken to Windsor after the funeral service at London's Westminster Abbey on Monday.
In the castle chapel there, the coffin will be placed next to Prince Philip's on Monday evening.
Read the overview of the most important events on the day of the Queen's funeral here.
Apr/AFP
