The guardsmen who carried the Queen’s coffin have been praised for their professionalism and composure at the state funeral.
Soldiers from the Queen’s Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, carried the coffin draped in the Royal Standard as millions of people around the world watched the ceremony.
The unit had a close connection with the Queen – as the serving monarch she held the position of company commander and made a personal review of the company every decade.
The work of the eight pallbearers was highlighted by people watching the events as they took place in Westminster.
READ MORE: Liz Truss mistaken for 'minor royal' in TV coverage of Queen's funeral
Carla Lockhart, Upper Bann’s DUP MP, said: “Amidst the pageantry and occasion, eight young men silently went about their duty.
“The weight of the world on their shoulders, the glare of the world on them, but they were flawless.
“They did themselves, their families and our country proud. Thank you.”
Amidst the pageantry and occasion 8 young men silently went about their duty.
— Carla Lockhart MP (@carlalockhart) September 19, 2022
The weight of the world on their shoulders, the glare of the world on them, but they were flawless.
They did themselves, their families and our country proud. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/YNCoboxWy6
Former British Army soldier Major Adrian Weale told the PA news agency: “They became the Queen’s Company immediately after the death of George VI and the Queen has been commander ever since.
“It’s their role to protect her body, both in life and in death, remaining the Queen’s Company until King Charles decides otherwise.
“Their duties will then be transitioned to the next monarch.”
On the day the Queen died, the unit was deployed on operations in Iraq but returned to take part in the ceremonial events.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel