On November 29, 1900, after much preparation, the grand funeral of Queen Victoria, a highly esteemed former British monarch, finally began.
As someone who had meticulously planned her own funeral, Queen Victoria had very specific requests, all of which were granted by her son Edward. One of her personal touches was that everyone attending the funeral had to wear something white, even the horses were draped in white cloth.
This included the main character of the funeral, Queen Victoria herself. She was dressed in a white wedding gown with a white veil covering her head, symbolizing her loyalty to love and marriage.
To comply with Queen Victoria's will, William II, Edward, Arthur, Princess Beatrice, and the queen's confidant James Reid, along with three loyal servants, stood at the head and sides of the queen's body, carefully lifting and placing her in the coffin.
This was not a simple task, as Queen Victoria had passed away a month prior and, despite the body being well-preserved, Arthur and the others had to be extremely careful to avoid any unnecessary damage to the queen's remains.
The queen's oversized sarcophagus was lined with thick charcoal and covered with the sleeping robe of Prince Albert.
Even though Prince Albert had passed away more than 40 years ago, Queen Victoria kept her husband's sleeping robe, which demonstrated the depth of their love.
Next to the sarcophagus was a dedicated place for funerary objects, which Queen Victoria had specific instructions for. Unlike other monarchs who preferred to have a large amount of jewelry and gold coins, Queen Victoria's funerary objects consisted only of her favorite shawls, handkerchiefs, rings, books, photos, jewelry boxes, and bracelets, all small items.
After enjoying a life of luxury, Queen Victoria did not want extravagance but warmth and memories after her death. Although the value of each funeral item may not be too high, they held special significance for Queen Victoria.
Having lost her father in childhood, her husband in middle age, and her son in old age, Queen Victoria faced tragic circumstances throughout her life.
Combined with the British hegemony of the Victorian era, her various deeds pushed this great queen into legendary status.
At 8am, Queen Victoria's funeral officially began in London.
Before the funeral of Queen Victoria began, royal families and high-level officials from various European and world countries had already arrived at Westminster Abbey.
Before the funeral, Westminster Abbey specially rang the bell 81 times in commemoration of Queen Victoria's legendary life of 81 years.
Due to Queen Victoria's request for a military funeral, her coffin was placed on a gun carriage and pulled by hundreds of Royal Navy sailors before the funeral began.
According to Queen Victoria's will, it was originally arranged for eight white horses to pull the gun carriage.
However, upon Arthur's proposal, it was changed to use hundreds of Royal Navy sailors to pull the gun carriage.
The reason that Edward VII and British officials agreed to this was that it would enhance the sense of ceremony of the entire funeral, and at least make it more solemn and humane compared to a horse-drawn carriage.
The method of transporting the coffin on a gun carriage pulled by soldiers, initiated by Queen Victoria, has since become a high-standard royal tradition.
In the original history, another Queen Elizabeth, who reigned for a longer time, also replicated Queen Victoria's funeral procession.
As the carriage carrying the coffin was slowly escorted by naval soldiers towards Westminster Abbey, countless British people paid their lofty respects and infinite blessings to this great queen along the way.
Although the entire funeral procession route was only a few kilometers long, the carriage took more than two hours to allow Queen Victoria to be seen by more people.
King Edward VII and other senior members of the royal family walked behind Queen Victoria's coffin, following the carriage in the procession, also accompanying her on her final journey.
At this time, both Edward VII and Arthur were dressed in military uniforms, covered in their country's medals and honors.
But Arthur's mood was very heavy after losing Queen Victoria. Perhaps after Queen Victoria's death, Arthur could only rely on himself.
Although Princess Louise and his two sisters were equally concerned about Arthur, they could only provide him with spiritual comfort, and in reality, they could not help Arthur in the slightest.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Queen Victoria's coffin officially arrived at Westminster Abbey, and the state funeral began.
There were nearly a thousand guests attending the ceremony, including high-level leaders and royals from various countries.
First, the Archbishop of Canterbury praised the Queen's achievements, praising her as a Christ-like example who had served her country and people throughout her life.
Because Queen Victoria's achievements were indeed impressive, there were many praises for her, including the rise of the British Empire as the world's strongest, the expansion of British territory around the world, and the establishment of the Indian Empire, among other honors.
British Prime Minister Robert also read a passage from the Gospel of John in the Bible at the funeral.
Subsequently, there was a three-minute silence in honor of Queen Victoria, during which the entire British Empire simultaneously observed a moment of silence starting at 11:55 am on November 29th and lasting until 11:58 am. This had been previously arranged and all colonies and territories were to participate.
At the end of the ceremony, the British national anthem "God Save the Queen" was played, and the state funeral was declared over. It is worth noting that the anthem changes to "God Save the King" when a male monarch is reigning.
Queen Victoria's coffin was then transported to the southeast corner of Hyde Park in London, at the Wellington Arch, and from there it was transferred to Windsor Castle for burial.
The funeral procession for Queen Victoria was quite grand, with over 2,000 soldiers and hundreds of civilians in attendance. Due to her high standing in the United Kingdom, there were soldiers and police officers stationed along the procession route to maintain order.
The Big Ben chimed every minute, and in the slow tolling of the bell, Queen Victoria's coffin passed through the capital's streets accompanied by the procession, amid crowds of mourners stretching over a mile long, marching towards Windsor Castle.
Upon reaching the Wellington Arch, Queen Victoria's coffin was transferred to a new national hearse and continued on to Windsor Castle. At this point, the largest number of British citizens came to bid farewell to the queen, as ordinary people were not allowed to enter the castle once the coffin had arrived.
Therefore, the section of the procession route between Wellington Arch and Windsor Castle was the last opportunity for the British public to see Queen Victoria's remains. As the hearse passed through the streets, the crowds threw flowers and applauded, expressing their deep grief and respect for the queen.
People were reluctant to bid farewell to the queen, but they had to accept her departure. Therefore, they could only express their profound respect for Queen Victoria by throwing flowers towards the hearse. These flowers represented her high standing in the hearts of the British people.
It is worth noting that due to the approaching end of Queen Victoria's funeral, the prices of flowers throughout London had risen. Nevertheless, the public still bought bunches of flowers to throw towards the procession, which is a testament to Queen Victoria's status and popularity among the British people.