QUEEN ELIZABETH II FUNERAL PROCESSION

Tuesday,September 20, 2022

    Despite autumn having officially started on September 1, the weather is still holding up. Never one to miss an excuse to wander aimlessly around our capital, I decide to walk the route of yesterday’s funeral procession.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II FUNERAL PROCESSION ROUTE

       I’ve previously written about Whitehall, Westminster and Hyde Park Corner (see Whitehall and Park Lane). Here are some extra observations….

                                                      

                               Reubens made a nice job of painting the ceiling.

      
    The black mark on the Horse Guards clock face (maybe) references the time Charles I was beheaded.

    Horse Guards Parade was formerly Henry VIII’s tilt yard. It is the site of various public ceremonies, notably Trooping of the Colour which the Queen attended for many years on Burmese, her favourite horse ..... and also the Beach Volleyball venue at the 2012 Olympics.

    For much of the late 20^th century, Horse Guards Parade was used as a car park for senior civil servants. Some 500 were granted spaces, popularly known as the ‘Great Perk’.  In 1997, after much protest, the privilege was removed and parking banned.

Also in Horse Guards Parade …

    Many representatives of the media remain in the area. But there’s also lots of de-rigging going on, including putting the traffic lights back. No, simply switching them off wasn’t enough; we do things properly here.

 

     A ferret was used to install some of the TV cables at Buckingham Palace for the wedding of Charles and Diana. Dragging a wire, the furry cable guy was lured from one end of a long duct to the other by the smell of bacon. I can understand how that would work with me.

     A mass of floral tributes are still on display in Green Park; nicely arranged for easy access. And all humanely composted afterwards. We do things properly here.

    Unfortunately, Constitution Hill was closed to the public. I tried to get closer but was intercepted by a security lady who actually used the phrase “It’s more than my job’s worth”. 

    My explanation that I only wanted a photo of a streetlamp didn’t convince her. But she seemed impressed when I pulled out my big lens (as I often do in the royal parks), and briefly allowed me to get near enough to snap my picture.

    At one time they replaced the original gas streetlamps on Constitution Hill with modern concrete ones. But a campaign led by comedian Spike Milligan resulted in the original lamps being reinstated. They are no longer gas lit.

    My new jobsworth friend had never heard of Spike but I think I brightened her day by telling her his headstone is inscribed with the words: “I told you I was ill”. The epitaph is in Gaelic because the local diocese refused to allow it to be written in English. The gravestone is in the village of Winchelsea, East Sussex.

    Our King Charles was a fan and close friend of Spike. When the comedian received a  Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994, Charles sent a congratulatory message to be read out on live television. Spike interrupted the message to call the prince a "little grovelling bastard". He later faxed the prince, saying: "I suppose a knighthood is out of the question?"

     Even late in life, Milligan's black humour had not deserted him. After the death of fellow-Goon Harry Secombe, he said, "I'm glad he died before me, because I didn't want him to sing at my funeral." However, a recording of Secombe singing was played at Milligan's memorial service.

Postscript:

    It’s ironic that having just converted to plastic banknotes - which last longer than the old paper ones - they will be replaced with new ones featuring Charles.  It’s the first time this has happened as the sovereign’s head wasn’t on banknotes prior to 1960.  It seems there is no hurry and the new notes will not be in circulation before 2024.