{"id":10047,"date":"2022-09-22T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-22T06:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/?p=10047"},"modified":"2024-09-25T15:24:51","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T14:24:51","slug":"burial-of-a-king-in-westminster-abbey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/2022\/09\/22\/burial-of-a-king-in-westminster-abbey\/","title":{"rendered":"The Last Burial of a King in Westminster Abbey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The death of Queen Elizabeth II has meant the revival of a practice that had in effect been suspended for over two centuries: the funeral of a monarch in Westminster Abbey. The last king to have his funeral there was George II on 11 November 1760, and even though this was technically a \u2018private funeral\u2019, thereafter more private \u2013 though still very public \u2013 ceremonies have taken place at St George\u2019s Chapel, Windsor, instead. Here Dr Robin Eagles<\/a>, editor of our House of Lords 1715-1790<\/a> project, considers the ‘spectacular’ and ‘solemn’ event…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

George II\u2019s funeral, which took place just over a fortnight after his death on 25 October, has been described as having been \u2018particularly spectacular\u2019 [Black] and carried out \u2018with respect and reverence\u2019 [Brooke]. Unsurprisingly, Horace Walpole<\/a> left a colourful account of what it was like to be there. In a letter to George Montagu he remarked \u2018I had never seen a royal funeral\u2019 so resolved to go along, walking as \u2018a rag of quality, which I found would be\u2026 the easiest way of seeing it\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Portrait<\/a>
King George II<\/a>
by Thomas Hudson, 1744
NPG 670
\u00a9 National Portrait Gallery, London<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Prior to the ceremony, the king had been carried from Kensington Palace, where he died, to lie in state in the Prince\u2019s Chamber within the Palace of Westminster<\/a>. Walpole described it as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

absolutely a noble sight. The prince\u2019s chamber, hung with purple, and a quantity of silver lamps, the coffin under a canopy of purple velvet, and six vast chandeliers of silver on high stands\u2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Speedy preparations had been made to ensure all was ready for receiving the king\u2019s remains, which were conveyed on a hearse \u2018of a new construction\u2019. Scaffolding was erected from the Prince\u2019s Chamber to the north gate, an additional organ installed in Westminster Abbey and files of soldiers lined the route to keep \u2018the mob off\u2019. The arrival of those intending to walk in the funeral procession was carefully choreographed, the chaplains arriving at six in the evening, nobles and gentry at seven \u2013 it was customary for funerals to take place at night. Once all were assembled, the procession set out, though according to one newspaper by mistake it began in darkness before the torches had been lit. Walpole clearly did not notice, as he reported approvingly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

The procession, through a line of foot-guards, every seventh man bearing a torch, the horse-guards lining the outside, their officers with drawn sabres and crape sashes on horseback, the drums muffled, the fifes, bells tolling, and minute guns, – all this was very solemn.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For Walpole, though, the true \u2018charm\u2019 was the entrance to the Abbey. The funeral party was greeted by the dean and chapter with members of the choir and almsmen holding torches, so that \u2018one saw it to greater advantage than by day\u2019. There was further illumination from rockets sent up at certain points so the artillerymen knew when to start firing the minute guns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here things began to unravel. Following the elegant procession and the magical flickering of the torchlight, people pushed forward to get a decent view of the burial vault, sitting or standing \u2018where they could or would\u2019. The Yeomen of the Guard, borne down by the weight of the coffin, appealed for assistance, and the anthem, specially composed for the event by William Boyce, \u2018The Souls of the Righteous are in the Hand of God\u2019, was dismissed by Walpole as \u2018immensurably [sic] tedious\u2019: he thought it might have worked better at a wedding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the midst of all of this were two prominent figures: the late king\u2019s son, the duke of Cumberland<\/a>, wearing a long dark wig known as an \u2018Adonis\u2019, his great bulk \u2018heightened by a thousand melancholy circumstances\u2019, and the Prime Minister, the duke of Newcastle, by turns weeping uncontrollably and tearing around the chapel trying to see who else was there. Cumberland, present as \u2018chief mourner\u2019, had recently suffered a stroke and was in poor health. Walpole could not resist observing how hard it must have been for him to stare into the vault, as he might well expect to be joining his father there quite soon. The papers noted that Cumberland, so often reviled as the brutal victor of Culloden, was seen to shed tears several times during the proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"A<\/a>
View, cross section, and plan of the vault in the King Henry VII chapel,
including marble sarcophagus and urns of George II and Queen Caroline at the far end,
\u00a9 The Trustees of the British Museum<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Even though these were strictly speaking private affairs, royal funerals in the period were very public events and often criticized for their lack of decorum. That of George II\u2019s heir, Prince Frederick, nine years previously, is often held up as an occasion when especially little respect was shown to the departed \u2013 notably by members of his own family, who did not trouble to attend. On that occasion there had also been muddles on the day. Where Walpole had experienced a magical welcoming of George II\u2019s cortege by the dean and chapter, at Prince Frederick\u2019s funeral there had been a brief embarrassing stand-off as the Abbey authorities and heralds quarrelled about rights of access. Despite this, it has been indicated more recently that Prince Frederick was not snubbed in the way that is frequently repeated (largely because of a particularly partial account by George Bubb Dodington<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of overall solemnity combined with occasional hiccoughs, George II\u2019s funeral followed a well-worn pattern of similar royal events in the 18th century. As Walpole experienced, there was true drama and theatrical solemnity in the way the procession was guided by torchlight, and the added mystery of the vault illuminated by just a few lights held by attendants. But there were also less decorous moments. Events like these were, after all, by their very nature under-rehearsed. One newspaper, The Gazetteer and London Daily Advertiser <\/em>of 13 November 1761 reported that some \u2018peace-officers\u2019 observing the ceremony from scaffolds outside the abbey, had forgotten to wear mourning. It was noted too that neither Cumberland\u2019s coachmen nor footmen were in mourning either. There were also the inevitable reports of problems within the crowd with some papers carrying stories of serious injuries and even deaths by people being crushed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, if there were occasional lapses in protocol, and some dreadful accidents among those watching the proceedings, all the indications are that George II was accorded considerable respect in his final journey. There was certainly no scrimping in making sure that everything was furnished as it should be. The cost of lighting Westminster Hall and the Abbey was said to have run to \u00a31,000, and the cost of the entire funeral around \u00a350,000 [Lloyd\u2019s Evening Post<\/em>, 12-14 November 1761]. The London Chronicle<\/em> of 11-13 November reported that only five peers (barring those excused for various reasons) were missing from the ceremony. It also seems clear that London as a whole made a point of marking the king\u2019s demise. Starting with St Paul\u2019s Cathedral at six o\u2019clock, all the London parishes followed suit in ringing their bells until 11 at night, joined by the sounding of guns firing through the evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RDEE<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further Reading:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Letters of Horace Walpole<\/em>, ed. C.B. Lucas [pp.297-8]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeremy Black, George II: Puppet of the Politicians<\/em>? (Exeter, 2007)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Brooke, King George III<\/em> (1972)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robin Eagles, \u2018 \u201cNo more to be said?\u201d Reactions to the death of Frederick Lewis, prince of Wales\u2019, HR<\/em> lxxx (2007)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrew Thompson, George II<\/em> (Yale, 2011)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The death of Queen Elizabeth II has meant the revival of a practice that had in effect been suspended for over two centuries: the funeral of a monarch in Westminster Abbey. The last king to have his funeral there was George II on 11 November 1760, and even though this was technically a \u2018private funeral\u2019, thereafter more private \u2013 though still very public \u2013 ceremonies … Continue reading The Last Burial of a King in Westminster Abbey<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122411095,"featured_media":10060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[774275560,20918757,73396375,774275649],"tags":[774275691,35890,117859,2003708,2104999,34283334,705166,96696478,44647940,641132],"class_list":["post-10047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-georgian","category-18th-century-history","category-parliamentary-buildings","category-george-ii","tag-death-of-monarch","tag-featured","tag-funeral","tag-funeral-procession","tag-horace-walpole","tag-lie-in-state","tag-lying-in-state","tag-princes-chamber","tag-royal-funeral","tag-westminster-abbey"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/king-george-ii.jpg?fit=485%2C800&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2QYNW-2C3","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":249,"url":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/2013\/04\/16\/prime-ministers-funerals\/","url_meta":{"origin":10047,"position":0},"title":"Prime Ministers’ Funerals","author":"Emma Peplow","date":"April 16, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"A look back at the different Prime Ministers who received public funerals... Tomorrow former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher\u2019s funeral will take place at St Paul\u2019s Cathedral. Public funerals for Prime Ministers have been fairly rare in recent years, but Baroness Thatcher is by no means alone in receiving this honour\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "18th Century history"","block_context":{"text":"18th Century history","link":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/category\/centuries\/18th-century-history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"D12442","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/d12442.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10139,"url":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/2022\/10\/13\/funeral-of-king-edward-iv\/","url_meta":{"origin":10047,"position":1},"title":"\u2018All men of Englond ar bounde for hym to pray\u2019: The Funeral of King Edward IV, April 1483","author":"Hannes Kleineke","date":"October 13, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Reports have suggested that as many as 35 million viewers in the UK tuned in to watch the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. As much of the nation, and the world, continues to reflect on her passing, here Dr Hannes Kleineke editor of our Commons 1461-1504 project explores\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "History of Parliament Trust"","block_context":{"text":"History of Parliament Trust","link":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/category\/history-of-parliament-trust\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-1.png?fit=830%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-1.png?fit=830%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-1.png?fit=830%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-1.png?fit=830%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2325,"url":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/2018\/05\/03\/a-noble-sight-the-princes-chamber-and-royal-lyings-in-state-in-the-eighteenth-century\/","url_meta":{"origin":10047,"position":2},"title":"\u2018A noble sight\u2019: the Prince\u2019s Chamber and Royal Lyings in State in the Eighteenth Century","author":"History of Parliament","date":"May 3, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"In the latest post for the Georgian Lords, we are delighted to welcome a guest blog from Dr Rachel Wilson, Research Fellow for the Leverhulme Trust funded Sheridan Project at the University of Leeds, who considers the ceremonial uses of the Prince's Chamber in the old Palace of Westminster, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Georgian Lords"","block_context":{"text":"Georgian Lords","link":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/category\/sections\/georgian-lords\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"John Roque, 1746 map detail, Palace of Westminster, Wikipedia","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/john-roque-1746-map-detail-palace-of-westminster-wikipedia.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10088,"url":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/2022\/10\/06\/1st-duke-of-marlborough\/","url_meta":{"origin":10047,"position":3},"title":"\u201che, who surpass\u2019d all the Heroes of Antiquity\u201d: John Churchill, 1st duke of Marlborough","author":"Robin Eagles","date":"October 6, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"2022 marks the 300th anniversary of the death of John Churchill, 1st duke of Marlborough. 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