The Queen’s final resting place is marked with a simple plaque that unites her forever with her beloved husband and parents.
The 96-year-old was buried in a touching private ceremony at the King George VI Memorial Chapel in Windsor on Monday night.
There, the ledger stone – an inscribed slab set on the floor – had previously been marked with the Queen’s parents’ names in gold lettering on black Belgian marble.
Buckingham Palace revealed tonight that a new plaque will be installed overnight bearing the names of the late monarch, her husband and her parents, and their dates of birth and death.
In order, he reads George VI 1895-1952, Elizabeth 1900-2002, Elizabeth II 1926-2022, Philip 1921-2021.
Between the couple there is one metal Garter star, the badge of the Order of the Ribat, the country’s oldest and most prestigious equestrian rank.
The four were members of the Order, and St. George’s Church, where the memorial church is located, is considered her spiritual home.
A stone slab bearing the names of Queen Elizabeth II, her late husband Prince Philip and her parents King George VI and Queen Elizabeth has been installed at St George’s Chapel in Windsor
The royal family yesterday released a never-before-seen photo that shows Queen Elizabeth II strolling the heather at Balmoral in Scotland.
Her Majesty the Queen is interred alongside her husband Prince Philip and her parents King George VI and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Pictured: A stone at St George VI Memorial Chapel at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, where the Queen Mother is buried in 2002
Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin was lowered below St George’s Chapel in Windsor during her service on Monday afternoon.
The humble stone annex, which can be seen through a metal portal inside St George’s Chapel, contains the ashes of the late King’s sister Margaret.
The public will be able to watch the Queen’s final resting place starting next week, but they will have to pay for the privilege, and it could be revealed.
The church, which is currently closed during the royal morning, will reopen to visitors on Thursday 29 September as part of a public tour of Windsor Castle, costing up to £28.50 for adults and £15.50 for children.
The castle is only open five days a week from Thursday through Monday – but St. George’s Chapel is closed to the public on Sundays because it is a lively place of worship.
Castle tours are managed by the Royal Collection Trust (RCT), a registered charity and run by the Royal Family. The royal family does not keep profits.
The income from admissions and other commercial activities is used to maintain the Royal Collection, one of the largest and most important art collections in the world and one of the last great European royal collections to remain intact.
The collection contains thousands of artworks and artifacts, which are not owned by the King as a private individual, but are kept by the King for his successors and the nation.
Its treasures are scattered among around 15 royal and former residences across the UK, most of which are regularly open to the public.
It may come as some surprise, however, that those who wish to see the Queen’s resting place and pay respects would have to pay to do so.
Sources stressed, however, that RCT is a charity and has suffered a shortfall of £30m as a result of the pandemic.
There may also be concern that St George’s Chapel could be overrun with mourners, especially since the family memorial is so small that visitors can only look at it through a small metal gate.
And with 250,000 cleaners queuing for up to 14 hours to watch the Queen lie in state, Windsor staff could face long queues and bottlenecks.
Last night a special service, which was scheduled to begin at 7.30pm, was held out of the public eye as King Charles buried his mother the Queen. This rarely seen photo from 1947 was posted last night
King Charles III lays the color of the Queen’s Company’s camp of the Grenadier Guards on Her Majesty’s coffin at Monday’s commissioning ceremony
The new king was weeping as he bid farewell to his mother on Monday afternoon at St George’s Chapel in Windsor
Members of the public threw flowers and bouquets of flowers that blanketed the royal paradise upon the Queen’s arrival in Windsor on Monday afternoon.
However, an RCT spokesperson stressed that only a limited number of castle tickets are sold each day in specified 15-minute time slots.
George VI died in February 1952 at the age of 56 – a moment that has always been especially marked by the Queen at her home in Sandringham. Her mother died at the age of 101 in March 2002. The Queen had lost her sister Princess Margaret the previous month at the age of 71.
King George’s coffin was originally housed in the Royal Vault. But since his desire was for him to rest in his own chapel with his beloved wife, his eldest daughter built a memorial chapel bearing his name in 1969.
Their resting place is marked by a black ledger bearing the inscriptions of King George VI 1895-1952 and Elizabeth 1900-2002 in gold lettering. Margaret’s ashes were initially placed in the Royal Vault, before being taken to the Memorial Chapel when the Queen Mother died weeks later.
After a historic state funeral in London and an assignment ceremony in Windsor on Monday, the late Queen’s coffin was lowered into the vault but later returned with Prince Philip, who died last April at the age of 99.
Their remains were then interred in the family’s small memorial annex which was built on the north side of St. George’s Chapel.
Their coffins were gently lowered 18 feet to be placed one on top of the other, supported by a metal frame, within the 10-foot by 14-foot chamber.
An RCT spokesperson said visitors would not be able to bring flowers inside the castle.
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