Queens Elizabeth II‘s final procession had thousands of onlookers as her casket made it way down the Long Walk toward Windsor Castle, but perhaps none were as touching as the attendance of her beloved corgis and her favourite pony.
Two of the queen’s favourite pooches, Pembroke Welsh corgis named Muick and Sandy, were led out to witness the procession.
Her favourite Fell pony, Carltonlima Emma, was also standing amongst the floral tributes lining the road as her coffin was driven past.
Queen Elizabeth’s life was chock-full of impressive achievements and interests over the course of her 70-year reign, but one of the most enduring and long-spanning was her love for animals.
Over the course of her life, the queen owned more than 30 dogs — the majority of them being corgis, many of which she bred herself and were descendants of her first corgi, Susan, which had been a gift on her 18th birthday.
In addition to Carltonlima Emma — or as she’s usually known, Emma — the queen’s final procession was flanked by dozens of soldiers on horseback surrounding the hearse carrying Her Majesty’s coffin.
The queen was known to ride Emma well into her 90s and served as a patron of the Fell Pony Society, reports The Guardian.
The world was also given a glimpse of the touching way thousands of the bouquets left by grieving members of the public had been repurposed on the road to Windsor Castle. Images show the flowers artfully and carefully arranged in neat blocks alongside the road. Hundreds more were placed on the grounds of Windsor Castle.
In a country known for pomp and pageantry, the first state funeral since Winston Churchill’s was filled with spectacle. Before the service, a bell tolled 96 times — once a minute for each year of Elizabeth’s life. Then, 142 Royal Navy sailors used ropes to draw the gun carriage carrying her flag-draped coffin to Westminster Abbey, where pallbearers bore it inside, and about 2,000 people ranging from world leaders to health-care workers gathered to mourn.
The trappings of state and monarchy abounded; the coffin was draped with the Royal Standard and atop it sat the Imperial State Crown, sparkling with almost 3,000 diamonds, and the sovereign’s orb and sceptre.
During the committal ceremony in St George’s Chapel on Windsor Castle grounds, Dean of Windsor David Conner praised Elizabeth for her “life of unstinting service” to the nation but also her “kindness, concern and reassuring care for her family and friends and neighbours.”
Following the public proceedings, the queen was laid to rest next to her husband, Prince Philip, at a private family service.
— With files from The Associated Press
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