By Shola Oshunkeye
The world turned a new page in history, Monday, as Queen Elizabeth II took her final bow from the stage of life in an awesome spectacle that would keep historians busy for some time.
The world bade Elizabeth The Great a final farewell as she was buried in a blaze of glory in a pageantry rarely seen in over 50 years. The awe-inspiring event was witnessed by Kings and Queens, Princes and Princesses, Presidents and Prime Ministers, as well as hundreds of royals and Heads of Governments from across the world, especially the 56 countries of the Commonwealth where she was Queen.
A befitting prologue to a marvelous life, Queen Elizabeth’s funeral was only paralleled emotion, celebration and pageantry by the assassination of Mahatma Ghandhi, assassination of John F. Kennedy, death and burial of Nelson Mandela-who the late Queen was extremely fond of; burial of Pope John Paul, as well as the death and burial of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Two thousand eminent persons, including world leaders and foreign dignitaries, among them-Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, filled the West Minster Abbey to bid the Queen bye. Guns boomed every minute of 96 minutes, each signifying each of the 96 glorious years that she spent on earth to signify the beginning of the monarch’s last visit to the magnificent church.
It was at Westminster Abbey that the young Elizabeth got married, began her glorious reign and where the world was now bidding her a grand farewell after 70 years on the throne.
The funeral, the biggest spectacle of its kind in more than fifty years, also had a surfeit of high-profile military officers in attendance. It was a massive public event watched by billions across the world, thanks to the new media.
A befitting closing glee to eleven days of spectacle that began with the death of Elizabeth II on Thursday, September 8, 2022, the ceremony was a festival of colours, music, superb choreography, solemn respect, celebration of the best of Victorian tradition, and pageantry that only the Queen can command. It cannot be less because this was one monarch many saw as Queen of the media as she was the most reported human being on the surface of the earth in recent history. Her face loomed large in people’s consciousness for the all of the 70 years that she reigned.
Nigeria was represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as President Muhammadu Buhari arrived New York, Sunday, with his wife, Aisha, to attend what would be his last participation in the United Nations General Assembly, UNGA, as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Many of the Presidents and other Heads of Governments that attended the royal funeral will also leave London Monday or early Tuesday to joining the General Assembly.
The spectacular but solemn final farewell to the Queen began at about 11.am. local time, with a two-minute national silence, followed by the national anthem-God save the King.
The first lesson of the short but memorable service was read by the Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations, Rt. Hon. Patricia Scotland, while the second was taken by Prime Minster Liz Tross. In his short sermon, an obviously impressed Dr. Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, noted that “few leaders receive the great outpouring of love we have seen.”
Dr. Welby said the life and reign of the late Queen was not just set by her personal example but by the Lord Jesus Christ, whom she followed and served till the very end. He recalled how, at her coronation in the same church in 1953, she began her reign with prayers at the altar, where she knelt and prayed, pledging her allegiance to God Almighty before her citizens began to pledge their loyalty to her and the throne. Graceful in life, the Archbishop described the Queen as a loving ruler who touched so many lives across the world. He recalled hthe late monarch gave strong words of hope to her citizens, when the cataclysmic wind of COVID-19 was blowing the world, assuring them: “we will meet again.”
The Archbishop urged leaders across the world to follow the Queen’s example, her inspiration and trust in the Lord, concluding on a hopeful note that: “We will meet again.”
Prayers were said for the Queen’s family, subjects as well as for the prosperity and peace of Great Britain, and for God to grant the citizens the grace to walk and work with honour and grateful hearts. Prayers were also said for the Commonwealth and its leaders to promote justice with love for the common good. The priests praised God for the exemplary life of the Queen and prayed God to accept her into His presence.
Prayers were said for the Queen’s family, subjects as well as for the prosperity and peace of Great Britain, and for God to grant the citizens the grace to walk and work with honour and grateful hearts. Prayer s were also said for the Commonwealth and its leaders to promote justice with love for the common good. The priests praised God for the exemplary life of the Queen, praying God to accept her into His presence.
The Archbishop prayed for thee Household of God, the church that the Queen left behind, for it to continue on the path of righteousness and love for God and humanity. He rejoiced that the Queen was on her way to heaven where there is no doctor nor doctrine, but one love, one God; no noise, no music but one equal music; and no ends, no beginning but one equal eternity.
At 11.50 a.m. local time, the Archbishop Welby committed the soul of Elizabeth, the Great, to the Lord, praying God to grant her eternal bliss in His Kingdom. The solemn service, which lasted exactly one hour, came to an end at 12 noon, with a long blast of the trumpet, a two-minute, pin-drop silence; another long blast of the horn, then the British National Anthem-God Bless the King.
At 12.09, the Queen’s coffin was borne in procession out of the church. As the coffin with the Queen’s crown and its 2,864-carat diamond was carried towards the gun carriage, the most remarkable monarch that ever lived began her lone journey to her Maker. The 28-ton gun carriage was drawn by 98 officers of the Royal Navy on the two-hour journey from Westminster Abbey to her final resting place at Windsor Castle.
The Queen’s final resting place is the family vault at Windsor Castle beside her mother, father-King Goerge VI, and husband-Prince Philip.
The funeral effectively marked the end of the reign of a monarch whom the world knew as not just as Queen but THE QUEEN, and the beginning of the reign of her son, King Charles III.
