The service, taking place on
Monday 19th September, played host to many of the Queen’s happiest of personal
moments and as well as those of public duty. It will be 260 years since a
monarch’s funeral has been held at the Abbey, the last being King George II.
One of the biggest moments
held at the Abbey for Her Majesty was her wedding to Prince Philip.
In 1947, 2000 guests gathered
inside the central London church whilst millions of adoring royal fans listened
to a 21-year-old Princess Elizabeth exchange vows with her husband on the
radio, an occasion which was seen as a mood-booster in post-war Britain.
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Westminster Abbey was very special to the Queen
And it wasn’t just Her Royal
Highness who wed at Westminster, as the Queen watched her daughter, Princess
Anne, marry Captain Mark Phillips in the church in 1973, and her
second son, the Duke of York, wed Sarah Ferguson in 1986.
The new Prince and Princess of
Wales, William and Kate also said ‘I do’ within the walls
of Westminster Abbey in 2011.
Westminster Abbey was the
place in which, at age 25, Elizabeth was crowned Queen. An estimated 27
million people in Britain watched the ceremony on TV after the Queen agreed it
could be televised.
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Prince William and Princess Kate married at Westminster Abbey
During the service, the
Queen took the oath and was anointed, with the St Edward’s Crown placed on her
head.
The Queen’s chosen funeral
venue was also that of her mother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother’s, and of
her former daughter-in-law, Diana, Princess of Wales, both of whose funerals
were also held in Westminster Abbey.
It is also the final resting
place of 17 monarchs, including Charles II and Elizabeth I.
Many times, the Queen went to
the Abbey with her family to attend thanksgivings or commemorative events such
as a service to mark the 60th anniversary of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
scheme in 2016.
