Queen Elizabeth Designed The Hearse Carrying Her Coffin To Have A Specific Meaning

As the longest-reigning monarch in the United Kingdom thus far, Queen Elizabeth II left quite a legacy after her recent death. Once the media announced that she was put under medical supervision on the morning of September 8, per BBC, the world seemed to be put on pause while global news coverage focused on Her Majesty. Once the Queen arrived for medical care at Balmoral, her royal residence in Scotland, her family rushed to her side until her passing.

Now that the Queen's funeral is set for September 19, per CNN, arrangements are swiftly being made in order to honor the Queen's passing. At the time of this writing, according to Fox News, the royal family, including the "Fab Four" (Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and Prince William and Kate Middleton) have made their way to Windsor Castle in Berkshire to begin attending the traditional events prior to the funeral. The outlet also reported that Queen Elizabeth's coffin was received by both King Charles and the Queen Consort, Camilla, at Buckingham Palace on September 13. While each of these steps follow traditional protocol, the design of the hearse that carried the Queen's coffin to the Palace has quite a special and unique meaning.

Prior to her death, Queen Elizabeth II had a hand in designing the royal hearse carrying the coffin she would eventually be buried in, according to Hello! Magazine. The outlet reports that the state hearse carrying her body to Buckingham Palace was designed by Jaguar Land Rover and the Royal Household, and a tweet by Twitter user Rebecca English confirmed that the custom hearse was also new. Fox News reports that Queen Elizabeth's mother was also carried in a custom Jaguar hearse in 2002, so the design of the late Queen's hearse can be seen as a nod to the past in honor of her mother.

Not only that, but another small detail in the hearse can also be seen as a symbolic gesture. Having been both the longest-serving monarch and the matriarch of a large, significant family, to say Queen Elizabeth was a well-known global public figure is an understatement. To this effect, according to a tweet by Twitter user Roya Nikkhah, part of the hearse design for which the late Queen was consulted includes large window panes, in which her raised coffin can clearly be seen from all sides. Lights were also installed in this part of the hearse, and Twitter user Royal Central said in their tweet that the lights were made to allow the Queen "to be seen in death as she was in life."