# Breaking - The Queen is unwell (has died): 8 Sep 2022 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** breaking-news\ **Created:** [September 8, 2022, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-queen-is-unwell-has-died-8-sep-2022/971212 "2022-09-08T11:49:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 46
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-queen-is-unwell-has-died-8-sep-2022/971212/901 "2022-09-20T05:24:27Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > It looks like metal bands on both side of the break. I’m guessing they pre-cut it so it didn’t turn into one of those champagne bottle moments where it never breaks during a ship christening. I think they’re just made like that, with a screw connection so they can be easily disassembled for transportation. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-queen-is-unwell-has-died-8-sep-2022/971212/902 "2022-09-20T07:59:23Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > The First Lady standing next to the Queen Consort is like Glinda vs. the Wicked Witch. Okay, not that extreme in either direction. But when I’ve seen Camilla during this, I kept telling myself, “Well, she looks good for her _age_…” Then yesterday, the Beast pulls up and out pops Dr. Jill, with healthy hair, relatively smooth and glowing skin, and a trim figure. “Waitaminut…” I thought. Looked it up: Camilla is 75; Jill B. is 71. And she still makes Camilla look like Miss Havisham. _Really?_ Are we _still_ doing this to women? Care to comment about Biden’s hairline or Andrew’s paunch? ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-queen-is-unwell-has-died-8-sep-2022/971212/903 "2022-09-20T08:41:11Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > I think they’re just made like that, with a screw connection so they can be easily disassembled for transportation. Yes, they’re designed to be unscrewed into two halves. He’s not the only senior member of the Royal Household with one and in past centuries they all broke them at the funeral. It was a bit disappointing that he just placed it on the coffin. It used to be that they waited until the coffin had already been lowered and they then dropped the broken bits into the grave. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-queen-is-unwell-has-died-8-sep-2022/971212/904 "2022-09-20T09:34:01Z")
Westminster - what was/is the slab on the floor with the red fringe around it? The camera never seemed to focus on it. The road approaching Windsor looked like it was well used by horses. Some droppings appeared to be covered with sand. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-queen-is-unwell-has-died-8-sep-2022/971212/905 "2022-09-20T09:43:48Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > Westminster - what was/is the slab on the floor with the red fringe around it? The camera never seemed to focus on it. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I found it amusing to see how everyone was taking great care to avoid stepping on it, while having no problem walking on Winston Churchill’s grave. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-queen-is-unwell-has-died-8-sep-2022/971212/906 "2022-09-20T09:45:37Z")
Also, the red fringe is poppies (artificial) - abiding symbol of WWI. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-queen-is-unwell-has-died-8-sep-2022/971212/907 "2022-09-20T10:40:00Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > It is “God Save the King” from the moment of QE II’s death. The music is identical. You will not have heard “God Save the Queen” in this ceremony. I think when nobody is singing either version, it’s just ‘the National Anthem’ ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-queen-is-unwell-has-died-8-sep-2022/971212/908 "2022-09-20T10:46:15Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. > > I found it amusing to see how everyone was taking great care to avoid stepping on it, while having no problem walking on Winston Churchill’s grave. The slab in front of it is not Churchill’s grave - he’s buried elsewhere (at Bladon in Oxfordshire) - just a memorial to him. In any case, the rule in Westminster Abbey is that you can walk on any of the floorslabs, whether graves or memorials, except that of the Unknown Warrior. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-queen-is-unwell-has-died-8-sep-2022/971212/909 "2022-09-20T12:39:22Z")
I remember that rule from visiting London years ago. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-queen-is-unwell-has-died-8-sep-2022/971212/910 "2022-09-20T13:35:37Z")
It’s sometimes difficult to avoid walking on someone’s grave in that place. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-queen-is-unwell-has-died-8-sep-2022/971212/911 "2022-09-20T14:43:16Z")
If a military band played the tune to "God Save the (King/Queen), the music is identical. The change would be in the lyrics (Queen/King, her/him) The military band did not include vocals. I think the NY Times author is mistaken. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-queen-is-unwell-has-died-8-sep-2022/971212/912 "2022-09-20T14:45:15Z")
Seriously? Your cite is an American paper writing about a song played without vocals. Try again. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-queen-is-unwell-has-died-8-sep-2022/971212/913 "2022-09-20T14:47:20Z")
To be fair, death is a very abstract, and yet very matter-of-fact sort of thing for kids that age. I’m guessing it was probably easier for them than their parents to keep it together. But the whole expectation that the children and grandchildren are not going to cry or show emotion is pretty harsh IMO. I think it would go a long way to humanize the Royal Family if they actually cried or showed emotion of any sort. Maybe that’s the point- they’re not supposed to be _human_, but some sort of abstraction. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-queen-is-unwell-has-died-8-sep-2022/971212/914 "2022-09-20T15:01:35Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I think the NY Times author is mistaken. I think so two. There isn’t one rule for with vocal, and one for without. It certainly _felt_ like a wistful goodbye to the Queen, and no doubt everyone in the crowd was thinking it, but that doesn’t make it so. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-queen-is-unwell-has-died-8-sep-2022/971212/915 "2022-09-20T15:02:49Z")
> [@bump](#): > > But the whole expectation that the children and grandchildren are not going to cry or show emotion is pretty harsh IMO. I think it would go a long way to humanize the Royal Family if they actually cried or showed emotion of any sort. It’s toxic either way—being expected to show or not show emotion. Or, show some emotions and not others. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-queen-is-unwell-has-died-8-sep-2022/971212/916 "2022-09-20T16:01:08Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > > [@alphaboi867](#): > > > > noticed even her hearse had extra windows so the public could bettet see her coffin. > > I think that’s just the standard style of hearse there. [This page](https://www.goodfuneralguide.co.uk/hearses/) has all kinds of British hearses, many of them quite different from what you’d expect to see the Queen’s coffin in, but they’re almost all very transparent. From today’s Washington Post (if you can believe what you read in an American paper): > Throngs of people crowded to view the hearse, which Elizabeth helped design so its glass windows and roof would make the coffin more visible to the public. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-queen-is-unwell-has-died-8-sep-2022/971212/917 "2022-09-20T16:06:08Z")
The difference may be that the royal hearse also has a glass roof, because, yes, in Wikipedia and elsewhere I can find photos of European hearses with glass walls. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-queen-is-unwell-has-died-8-sep-2022/971212/918 "2022-09-20T16:14:48Z")
Yes, the hearse in London and Windsor was specially-designed. The one in Scotland was a standard hearse, AFAIK, from a local funeral director, whose logo had to be [removed from a window](https://www.scotsman.com/business/consumer/edinburgh-funeral-directors-william-purves-removes-company-logo-from-queens-hearse-en-route-from-balmoral-3841788) partway through the proceedings after complaints. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-queen-is-unwell-has-died-8-sep-2022/971212/919 "2022-09-20T16:19:27Z")
Actually, that article shows a glass roof on the Scottish hearse, so I’m not clear on what was custom on the royal hearse. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-queen-is-unwell-has-died-8-sep-2022/971212/920 "2022-09-20T16:33:02Z")
Ha, I noticed that at the time, and thought ‘you cheeky buggars’. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-queen-is-unwell-has-died-8-sep-2022/971212.md?page=45) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-queen-is-unwell-has-died-8-sep-2022/971212.md?page=47)