Britain’s Queen Buried After Christ-Centered Funeral
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
LONDON (Worthy News) – Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest reigning monarch, has been buried following a private ceremony in Windsor, the Royal Family says.
She was buried “together with the Duke of Edinburgh, at The King George VI Memorial Chapel,” they added in a statement. Her close family attended the burial ceremony.
It came after a lengthy funeral ceremony that included a church service in which Christ as her Lord and King of Kings was emphasized.
The Queen’s funeral took place under the magnificent gothic arches of Westminster Abbey, the setting for every coronation since 1066. It is home to the tombs of kings and queens and the church where the then Princess Elizabeth was married in 1947.
In his sermon, Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, focused on the Queen’s faith in Christ, who offers eternal life after death for all who believe in Him.
He said: “The pattern for many leaders is to be exalted in life and forgotten after death. The pattern for all who serve God – famous or obscure, respected or ignored – is that death is the door to glory.”
QUEEN’S PROMISE
The archbishop recalled the Queen’s promise on her 21st birthday to dedicate her life to service. “Rarely has such a promise been so well kept. Few leaders receive the outpouring of love we have seen.”
Speaking to the 2,000-strong congregation, which included royalty, world leaders, and members of the British establishment, he said: “People of loving service are rare in any walk of life. Leaders of loving service are still rarer. But in all cases, those who serve will be loved and remembered when those who cling to power and privileges are long forgotten.”
Her family was “grieving as every family at a funeral … but in this family’s case doing so in the brightest spotlight. May God heal their sorrow, may the gap in their lives be marked with memories of joy and life”.
Welby ended his sermon by echoing the Queen’s words in her Covid lockdown address to the nation. “We will meet again” were words of hope, he said.
“We will all face the merciful judgment of God: we can all share the Queen’s hope which in life and death inspired her servant leadership. Service in life, hope in death. All who follow the Queen’s example, and inspiration of trust and faith in God, can with her say: ‘We will meet again.’”
British Prime Minister Liz Truss delivered a careful and clear reading of Bible verse John 14:1-9 that was most likely suggested by the Queen while preparing for her funeral.
MANY MANSIONS
The text includes the observation: “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”
And the prime minister sounded evangelistic when reading: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
That theme was also a crucial part of a committal service in St George’s Chapel in Windsor on Monday afternoon with David Conner, the dean of Windsor.
It was there where a private burial service for close family members was held.
Originally built by William the Conqueror after the Norman conquest in 1066, Windsor Castle has been rebuilt and remodeled over the centuries but is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world.
Just outside London, it was the queen’s main weekend retreat and, in the later years of her reign, her preferred home. A massive fire there in 1992 caused much damage, capping what the queen called her “Annus Horribilis” (Horrible Year), which saw a string of scandals hit the royal family.
Windsor Castle is the resting place of more than a dozen English and British kings and queens. Most are buried in St. George’s Chapel, including Henry VIII, who died in 1547, and Charles I, who was beheaded in 1649.
On Monday, the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II was lowered here with the dean saying: “Go forth upon thy journey from this world, O Christian soul.”
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