It was 97 years ago that her mother, then Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, laid her wedding bouquet on the grave of the Unknown Warrior.
Almost a century later, this poignant gesture cannot have been far from the Queen’s mind as she took part in an intensely personal and emotional service at the sacred tomb in Westminster Abbey.
The monarch paid a private tribute to the fallen during a brief service held at her own request.
Returning to London for the first time since March, the Queen, dressed in black and wearing a face mask for the first time, designed by Angela Kelly, was in good spirits, chatting animatedly to the Dean of the Abbey beforehand.
Yet as she stood in sombre reflection at the poppy-lined grave in the centre of the cavernous Abbey, the monarch appeared lost in thought as she paid her own tribute.
It was a symbolic occasion, heavy with meaning, a brief moment capturing not only the special bond she feels with the «wartime generation – my generation», as she once said, but also the sacrifices made by a nation in the eye of a global pandemic.
Before coronavirus took hold, turning normal life on its head, Buckingham Palace had planned a large-scale event to mark the centenary of the burial of the Unknown Warrior with a special service on Armistice Day.
A procession was to echo elements of the journey of the unknown British serviceman’s body as it was transported from Northern France to London Victoria before being placed on a gun carriage drawn by six black horses and carried to its final resting place at the west end of the nave on November 11, 1920.
As with so many other plans, the ravaging effects of Covid-19 meant the centenary event had to be abandoned and, in its place, a smaller ceremony is now scheduled to take place on Wednesday.
The Queen had hoped to attend the service at the Abbey, but the personal significance of the occasion may never have been known had it not been for the pandemic. For in the event, the 94-year-old was advised that, to «minimise the risk», it would not be sensible to attend such a service, even in its pared down form, given her advancing years.
Rather than just accept her fate, she made a rare, personal request for her own opportunity to pay tribute to the fallen. A clandestine operation was swiftly launched, resulting in the Queen conducting her first official engagement in London since March.
Just hours before England was plunged into its second lockdown, Her Majesty travelled alone by car from Windsor to London on Wednesday morning. She briefly stopped at Buckingham Palace before making her way to the Abbey, where she was received by the Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, just after 11.45am.
Wearing a black coat, hat and gloves, a Jardine Star diamond brooch pinned under her poppy, the Queen chatted to the Dean before being escorted into the Abbey.
Standing in front of the Warrior’s Grave at the west end of the nave, and joined only by her equerry, Lt Col Nana Kofi Twumasi-Ankrah, she listened carefully to the Dean’s address.
He said: «Your Majesty, on Armistice Day we will mark 100 years since the burial of the Unknown Warrior, when your grandfather, King George V led the nation in mourning, and in honouring the service and sacrifice of the countless war dead whose graves were unmarked and unrecorded.
«We continue to honour the Unknown Warrior, whose significance has not lessened over 100 years. At the grave of this man, we commit ourselves once more, gladly, to the duty of remembrance, and we give thanks to God for all who risk their lives for the safety and freedom of others, and pray of the cause of peace throughout the world.»
The Queen then moved to a wooden stand, holding a bouquet of white and lilac orchids, myrtle and greens, based on her own wedding blooms and arranged by a Palace florist. Briefly touching the flowers, she then looked on as her equerry knelt to lay them on the warrior’s grave, where they remained until Saturday morning.
After a moment of silent reflection, the Dean said a prayer before the Piper to the Sovereign, Richard Grisdale, positioned up in the organ loft, played a lament, The Flowers of the Forest. The Queen fixed her gaze on the grave as the haunting tune echoed through the Abbey.
The Dean then gave a short blessing before accompanying the Queen outside, and she returned to Windsor.
After the service, the Dean said they had briefly chatted about the centenary and the life of the Abbey, which had played such a pivotal role in the Queen's own life.
«It was wonderful to see Her Majesty in such good spirits and good health,» he said. «This is the place where she was married, and she’s conscious of those associations.
«The story of the Unknown Warrior touches us all. It is very special for Her Majesty to do this, given the current restrictions. I know, because people tell me, that these moments when Her Majesty is in the Abbey gives us a sense of renewed purpose and encouragement. It makes us feel very privileged.»
It was the Queen's first engagement in London since the Commonwealth Service at the Abbey on March 9.
The ceremony will be broadcast on BBC One on Sunday morning before the Queen joins other members of the Royal Family at the Remembrance Service at the Cenotaph, marking the centenary of the unveiling of the Whitehall monument.
Source: Yahoo News
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