Wow. That’s surprising. I was very impressed at how the orb and scepter were attached somehow yet looked to be just lying there as the coffin made that long journey.
Not really. Stiff Upper Lip and all that, it’s what we pay them for. And it’s not like the Crown is going to get rusty.
We’d never get anything done in this country if we stayed home every time it rained.
From now on, of course. But when it was playing as the hearse pulled away, I believe it was God Save the Queen for her, for the last time… 
Then I will let you believe that, if it makes you happy 
I mean, the King was standing Right There, but hey.
It must be very weird for Charles.
I saw a couple of the sailors who pulled the gun carriage interviewed. Nice to see a female included.
I did a quick calculation. If 700,000 people stood in line to pay their respect to the Queen, that is more than 1% of the population of Great Britain. That is impressive.
That got to me as well. 70 years of singing for his mother, and now he will never sing it again.
The Queen’s funeral in pictures - BBC News
Ok… so what’s the deal with the sailors behind the gun carriage with the coffin? I can see the ones in front pulling it, but there’s a formation of them behind who are similarly in train with it- are they basically keeping it from getting away? It’s clearly traditional - I saw some footage of George VI’s funeral and they had the exact same arrangement, but I didn’t and don’t understand the trailing group of sailors.
Also… are those RCMP/Canadian Mounties in the ninth picture down, or some British cavalrymen who just happen to look a lot like them?
Yes, they’re the brakes. It’s very heavy and presumably would keep on trucking under its own momentum at the end of its route if nobody was able to yank on the other end.
I believe there were military from various Commonwealth realms. I saw some I think were Australian.
Yes, four Canadian Mounties actually led the procession through London. There were also regiments from Australia and New Zealand.
The Mounties lead the London procession.
Denmark has the only reigning queen now.
I usually can’t stand the bagpipes but the bit that got me was the lone piper in the service at the Abbey. The sound of it just got more and more distant - presumably as the piper walked off into the distance. The Queen would probably have enjoyed the sound of the piper and it felt like she was departing along with the sound of the pipes.
He was her personal piper. He would play at 7 am in balmoral. We will hear from him during the service at Windsor.
It also occurred to me that if something unforeseen happened and they had to pull the gun carriage in the opposite direction, there would be a way to do that. I don’t know what might necessitate that, but these planners cover all bases.
Aw, the queen’s horse is awaiting her arrival, lined up with the household.
BTW, why are navy ratings the ones pulling the gun carriage and not the army or air force?
It happened with queen Victoria. She wanted horses but it didn’t work out and the navy stepped in. Now it is tradition.
The corgis are awaiting her as well!
I like how they lined the route with flowers from the many bouquets people left behind.
This just in, we have the horse’s name. The horse is called Emma.
The Royal Navy is the senior service, so it happened to be closest to Queen Victoria’s gun carriage when there was a need for alternative motive power. (Obviously there was no RAF in 1901, but today it was way in the front of the procession as it’s junior to the other services.)