Princess Diana’s Funeral Part 21: The Bells and The Applause
“The Half Muffled Bells of Westminster Abbey ring out their quarter peal across an unusually still London.”
The Welsh Guards march with the coffin outside as Tom Fleming reads his own moving tribute in which he refers to Mother Theresa who died the day before the funeral. The organ starts up J.S. Bach’s Prelude in C Minor, which was requested by Diana’s mother.
Diana’s family line up to bid to coffin farewell as the Welsh Guards load it into the hearse with the registration number B626 MRK; passing it to the care of Leverton & Sons, the North London Funeral Directors who have held the Royal Charter for over two hundreds years. The commentary is then passed back to David Dimbleby.
The hearse then departs and the crowd bursts into rapturous applause as it goes up Broad Sanctuary towards Parliament Square. It has become customary in Britain to applaud at funerals of public figures ever since this moment.
You can also see the cranes that were building Portcullis House across the street from Big Ben. The London Eye is conspicuous by its absence from the sky. How things change in fifteen years…
The Hearse proceeds up Whitehall, passing Downing Street and the Cenotaph, and then goes through the archway into Horseguards as the applause reaches crescendo.
Next Part: The Hearse begins its hour long journey through London, accompanied by applause all along the way.
20/4/10: Commentator Tom Fleming died today.
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