It was a moment of sombre simplicity that marked the end of an age.
To the tune of the Dark Island played on the pipes, the gun carriage bearing the late Queen’s coffin set off from Westminster Hall.
It was uncomplicated. A monarch marched on her final journey by the men and women who had served her.
Queen’s Elizabeth’s arrival at Westminster Abbey was a Scottish one; a lamented one.
Inside the great abbey, the elaborate traditions of the Church of England took over; cassocked choristers, candles and the beauty of ritual.
It is a place that has witnessed the greatest occasions of state over centuries. Today was perhaps the greatest of these.
The old place was at its most impressive as the words of the first hymn, The day thou gavest Lord is ended, were sung with power and sincerity.
And Psalm 23, the Lord’s My Shepherd, took on particular significance given the late Queen’s deep faith in Christ, which had underpinned her life of service.
King Charles sat facing his mother’s coffin which he has done so several times in the past 11 days but the burden could be detected on his face.
It has been a gruelling time of duty for the King, his consort and family but this was a final public farewell to a mother, grandmother and great grandmother; yet still the royal decorum did not falter.
March of history
In silence the Queen’s coffin had been borne into the abbey. The only sound was footsteps, measured and deliberate like a clock counting down the closing moments of an era.
For the second time in a week, Rev Dr Iain Greenshields, the moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, was called upon to pay tribute to the Queen’s faith and devotion to duty.
He spoke after a sermon by Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury who recalled how the Queen rallied the nation during the Covid pandemic with the assurance that: “We will meet again.”
Rulers
The most powerful men and women on earth had gathered; presidents, six former prime ministers and the leaders of the devolved nations.
First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, and her husband Peter Murrell, sat in front of Michelle O’ Neill, Sinn Fein vice president. The presence of Ms O’Neill was a reminder of the Queen’s work to improve British-Irish relations.
Emmanuel Macron, president of France, was already seated when US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill arrived. He looked slightly frail but was in good humour, chatting to military officials before taking his seat.
Prayer of commendation
The Archbishop of Canterbury gave a prayer of commendation in which he said: “We entrust the soul of Elizabeth, our sister here departed, to thy merciful keeping, in sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life.
“Go forth, oh Christian soul from this world.”
The new Prince of Wales, and a future king, looked moved but composed during the benediction and just before trumpeters sounded the last Post to herald the start of two minutes of silent tribute.
It has been 11 days of pageantry, ceremony and tradition but today, at the final farewell to our Queen of 70 years that perhaps people felt the loss most acutely.