Royal Wedding's funeral cover-up

Published on Friday 22 April 2011 12:22

THERE will be two major Royal events in London next Friday - one very much higher profile than the other.

For while the world's eyes are on the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, palace officials have decided it is the best time to stage rehearsals for the Queen's funeral.

Ever-practical Buckingham Palace officials have seized the opportunity provided by the wedding to get in a dry run for what is expected to be the next major state occasion on anything like the same scale as her grandson's nuptials.

Even as the bride and bridegroom make their way to Westminster for their big day, a squad of courtiers will be deployed on their mission to prepare for a more sombre event at the same venue. They will go over the route, check the list of VIPs invited to attend and update the plan according to the timings recorded and the appearance of unforeseen obstacles.

The Queen is said to be "very pragmatic" about the exercise, realising that the gathering together of so many heads of state and Commonwealth leaders in one place will give her officials the best chance to make sure her funeral goes without a hitch.

The wedding procession will use the same route as the sovereign's funeral cortege, when a gun carriage will escort the Queen's coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall. The wedding procession itself, after the service in Westminster Abbey, will take place in five horse-drawn carriages and will pass the Houses of Parliament before travelling down Horse Guard's Parade and onto the Mall.

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The rehearsal is even believed to have been given its own codename: London Bridge.Around 1,900 guests have been invited to Friday's Royal Wedding, including British and European politicians, Commonwealth leaders, members of European and Middle Eastern Royal families, and a handful of high-profile celebrities including David and Victoria Beckham and pop singer Elton John.

The arrangements for the Queen's funeral are understood to be reviewed annually to take account of changing circumstances, and the Queen must approve significant changes.

The monarch celebrated her 85th birthday last week with a Royal Maundy service at Westminster Abbey.