St. George’s Chapel Will Be Queen Elizabeth II’s Final Resting Place, but as Britain’s Longest Reigning Monarch, She Deserves Her Own Mausoleum
Queen Elizabeth II‘s final resting place will be at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. However, as Britain’s longest reigning monarch, she deserves something far better.
Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral is at Westminster Abbey; then, she will travel to her final resting place
On Sept. 8, the royal family announced the death of Britain’s longest reigning monarch. She died “peacefully” at one of her favorite residences, Balmoral Castle, in the Scottish Highlands. Operation London Bridge, the code name royal staff had for the meticulously detailed funeral plans, has commenced.
The U.K. and other parts of the world are already experiencing a period of mourning. The Scottish public is paying their respects at Edinburgh’s St. Giles’ Cathedral.
On Sept. 13, the queen’s lead-lined coffin will travel to London for the last time. Then, she will rest in Westminster Hall for four days. The BBC estimate that over a million people could queue up to pay their respects.
On Sept. 19, the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II will be at Westminster Abbey. She is the first monarch to have a funeral at the ancient place of worship since 1760. According to Westminster Abbey‘s website, King George II was the last monarch to receive the honor.
Westminster Abbey is an essential place for the British monarchy. It’s where coronations going back 1,000 years have taken place. It held the weddings of the Queen and Prince Philip, and Prince William and Kate Middleton. However, very few monarchs’ funerals have taken place there.
Then, following her state funeral, Queen Elizabeth II will travel to her final resting place.
Queen Elizabeth II’s final resting place will be St. George’s Chapel, but she deserves something better
According to the New York Times, Queen Elizabeth II’s final resting place will be St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. After a service, Prince Philip, who died in 2021, will be moved from the Royal Vault beneath St. George’s Chapel and laid to rest with his wife.
Then the pair, who were married for over 70 years, will be interned with Queen Elizabeth II’s father, King George VI; mother, the Queen Mother; and sister, Princess Margaret, at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, part of St. George’s Chapel.
Architectural Digest reports that St. George’s Chapel was made the burial place for the royal family in the 19th century. Henry VIII, Charles I, George V, and George VI are buried there.
However, is King George VI Memorial Chapel the best final resting place for the longest reigning monarch? Some publications have speculated that Operation London Bridge has a secret last act.
Architectural Digest and Parade think a special mausoleum could be built for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, similar to the one built for the queen’s paternal great-great-grandparents (and Prince Philip’s maternal great-great-grandparents), Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, The Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore, on the Windsor Estate.
“It’s possible that a special mausoleum will be built for the queen and Philip like the one in which Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are interred, and whose tomb is marked by the royal couple’s marble effigies depicted lying side-by-side,” Parade writes.
The queen and Prince Philip should get their own mausoleum
Just because St. George’s Chapel became the burial place for the royal family in the 19th century doesn’t mean Queen Elizabeth II’s final resting place can’t be somewhere else on the Windsor Estate.
As the longest reigning monarch, she deserves a grand final resting place. If her great-great-grandmother, Britain’s longest reigning monarch before her, received The Royal Mausoleum, why can’t she?
When Queen Victoria died in 1901, she was loved. However, after 70 years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II has eclipsed her great-great-grandmother’s popularity and fame.
According to Insider, only 20% of today’s U.K. population was alive when Queen Elizabeth II was coronated. With seven decades on the throne, most people in the U.K. have never known another monarch. So, her death is a huge deal to some.
With all respect to the queen’s father, why would such an important monarch be placed to rest in King George VI Memorial Chapel? At the very least, she should be placed in a chapel named after her.
Wherever Queen Elizabeth II’s final resting place will be, her influence on her subjects and the world will last.
