Utter madness. IQ of the nation.

I haven’t seen anything that could be described as “mass hysteria” Bluebelle just varying degrees of patriotism and sadness mingled with pride for a magnificently performed ceremony befitting the funeral of the longest reigning monarch our country has had in it’s history.

MaizieD

GrannyGravy13

A useless piece of information, many of the mounted regiment have no prior horse experience. They apply and if accepted have an intense training course. Lots of falls, injuries and sometimes broken bones (the humans not the horses)

They do a very good job with them! Not a horse put a foot wrong yesterday and we both know that's equally due to the rider's skill as well as the horse's training

(though I'm not sure I'd fancy their chances in a cavalry charge...)

DD was messaging me reminding how difficult it is to keep a horse in collected walk for long distances.

My reply was yes I know I spent hours on your flipping horses practicing just that, whilst you had the fun stuff ???

Granmarderby10

I haven’t seen anything that could be described as “mass hysteria” Bluebelle just varying degrees of patriotism and sadness mingled with pride for a magnificently performed ceremony befitting the funeral of the longest reigning monarch our country has had in it’s history.

Mass hysteria isn’t people all feeling upset at the same time because someone has died. My mind brings back images of teen girls trying to get close to the Beatles! Now that was mass hysteria!

Caleo

If a country-wide progress had been feasible it would have been good for people's morale and good for the image of monarchy.

There is an ancient tradition of important corpses being carried from kirk to kirk and town cross to town cross. I intend to look it up. I think one of the old Border Ballads describes the tradition. I seem to remember there is at least one ancient English market cross that is associated with a dead queen's progress.

I know it happened centuries ago, but don’t you think a lot of people would find trundling a corpse round the country a bit distasteful?

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police keep their own breeding and horse training establishments, and specialise in musical rides performances. These magnificent black horses are crosses between thoroughbreds and Hanoverians. Queen Elizabeth rode a RCMP horse at the Trooping of the Colour and she loved it.

I found the sight the 2 young corgis and the fell pony looking on very touching and finally the removal of the orb sceptre and crown from her coffin deeply sad, especially as it was hastily followed a by a rousing God save our gracious king.
The lone piper vanishing out of earshot and sight was ghostly.

GrannyGravy13

MaizieD

GrannyGravy13

A useless piece of information, many of the mounted regiment have no prior horse experience. They apply and if accepted have an intense training course. Lots of falls, injuries and sometimes broken bones (the humans not the horses)

They do a very good job with them! Not a horse put a foot wrong yesterday and we both know that's equally due to the rider's skill as well as the horse's training

(though I'm not sure I'd fancy their chances in a cavalry charge...)

DD was messaging me reminding how difficult it is to keep a horse in collected walk for long distances.

My reply was yes I know I spent hours on your flipping horses practicing just that, whilst you had the fun stuff ???

I think the palm must go to the mounted police who headed most of the various processions. They had to keep to the pace with no-one ahead to keep in step with.

GSM, it's time people became familiar with physical life and death instead of hiding from the facts of death. As a dog owner you will know this.

Being familiar with life and death is one thing, carting a corpse all round the country is something else entirely.

Queen Elizabeth dead was taken by a local hearse on a long progress through the Scottish countryside from Balmoral to Edinburgh . This was not a matter of chance or logistics but was sound social psychology.

GSM as I said, it would not be feasible to do this for the whole of England , Wales, and Northern Ireland. Long ago kingdoms were smaller in area and people were more physical.

It was still done throughout the whole of England (I don’t know about Wales) a few centuries ago, before the union with Scotland.

Granmarderby, same here! I'd pick out these three incidents as especially touching.
It is true that she loved her dogs and her horses. It's great that she was not too proud to ride a Fell pony when she was old!

MaizieD

Thanks, GG13. You confirm my understanding of the situation.

^They also have weaponry and combat training and are regularly deployed round the world on exercises, peace keeping and war.^

No, they don't keep several thousand on standby for ceremonial duties alone.

Just to point out also that, unlike other services, the Armed services do not get paid overtime if anyone was worried about them costing the taxpayer extra by getting double pay on a Bank Holiday.

Just to point out also that, unlike other services, the Armed services do not get paid overtime if anyone was worried about them costing the taxpayer extra by getting double pay on a Bank Holiday.

I wouldn't have been in the slightest bit worried even if they did get paid overtime. In fact, I'm not at all worried about the over all cost of the everything because, as I pointed out earlier, most of it will return to the Treasury by way of taxation. It hasn't been poured into a big black hole.

In fact, it may well have contributed to keeping many companies afloat with all the extra business it has generated for them.

Some seem to be worried about the cost, though, MazieD, it was directed at you at all.

And yes, I agree, this will have generated revenue too.

I was not trying to be contentious, just pointing out something some posters may not know who were worrying about the cost earlier in the thread.

Typo alert!!
It was NOT directed at you at all

GSM
I know it happened centuries ago, but don’t you think a lot of people would find trundling a corpse round the country a bit distasteful?
Yes and there’d be concerns and complaints about damage, disruption, the cost etc. I was sorry the train down country didn’t happen, but all those concerns and complaints would have applied.

I believe the only reason the train wasn’t used, as originally planned, was the fear of protests disrupting the journey as it wouldn’t have been possible to secure the entire length of railway. Which shows how times have changed.

I seem to remember there is at least one ancient English market cross that is associated with a dead queen's progress.

Eleanor of Castile, the wife of Edward I of England.

Travel was very slow back then and the crosses connected with Eleanor were to mark their overnight stopping places between her place of death in Nottinghamshire and London. I’m not sure the ‘tour’ was to show her body to the people, was it?

Some seem to be worried about the cost, though, MazieD, it was directed at you at all.

Aren't I part of 'you all'?

Just putting in some extra reassurance...

SueDonim

^I seem to remember there is at least one ancient English market cross that is associated with a dead queen's progress.^

Eleanor of Castile, the wife of Edward I of England.

Travel was very slow back then and the crosses connected with Eleanor were to mark their overnight stopping places between her place of death in Nottinghamshire and London. I’m not sure the ‘tour’ was to show her body to the people, was it?

DD in Epping lives close to an Eleanor Cross. It is just off the M25. I believe it used to be on a thoroughfare but is now in the middle of an uninspiring shopping precinct. I think they are Grade 1 listed so cannot be placed somewhere more prominent.

Eleanor of Castile, wife of Edward I died in 1290 at Clipstone in Nottinghamshire when on one of the regular Royal Progresses that medieval Kings made.

Edward I wanted her buried in Westminster Abbey. The journey obviously took many days and Erward ordered a cross to be erected in every place they stopped for the night.

The most obvious equivalent is our late Queen dying in Scotland but needing to be brought south for burial. The purpose of Elinors journey was to get her to London not show her to the people, but if modern reactions are to be judged,, I am sure people flocked in from the surrounding countryside to see the procession and hope to see the King.

People do not really change very much.

I am sure people flocked in from the surrounding countryside to see the procession and hope to see the King.

Hmmm...

I'm not sure that the mediaeval English countryside was particularly well peopled at that time (estimated population about 5million at best). Nor that communications were good enough to keep a scattered population abreast of the news that the Queen's body was being transported to London...

But I suppose that one or two peasants might have flocked ..

Going off piste, sorry, but early in her reign Elizabeth I travelled from bankrupted host A to soon to be bankrupt host B not far from where my ancestors lived. It was known when the enormous procession would be passing through as the church wardens’ accounts detail money expended on bellringers, beer and food. I often wonder if they went to see the spectacle.