Wondered the same- as that was a rough ride on the procession. I feared the whole coffin was going off the carrier!
And surely not “the real” Crown- it must be under lock and key. (With a 317 carat diamond).
I’ve been readIng everything I can- I find the Royals so fascinating. Sad to see her era end.
It's the real crown. One doesn't send the Queen off with a fake. The top of the coffin is cunningly designed so the crown slots into place and is held firm without screwing up the Royal Standard. There are also slots for holding the royal sceptre and orb. The carrier is a gun carriage belonging to the King's Troop of Royal Horse Artillery and is the same carriage used in previous royal funerals including Queen Victoria. It is made, in part, with ironwork captured during the Crimea War (1853 - 1856). It is housed in the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolich and guarded day and night in the lead up to a funeral, lest it be tampered with. Laying the traces, training the horses and manoeuvring the whole thing is practiced over and over again, for months on end. During the funeral, the gun carriage will be hauled part way by members of the Royal Navy - a tradition begun during Queen Victoria's funeral when sailors stepped in to pull the gun carriage when the horses broke loose (a suggestion which came from her grandson, the German Kaiser). Notice too the riderless horse being led, it represents a fallen comrade in arms, in this case the Queen.
Though not British myself and in no way a Royalist, I known tons of these small details, thanks in part to working closely (and oft times drinking) with members of the British military, many of whom are close friends; many of whom are also currently on royal duty and closely involved with the Palace funeral arrangements. It's all
off topic, but I'm happy to answer a few questions about it all, if the general consensus is that fellow CD Tattlers don't mind. If not, I'll shut up.
Anybody trying to steal it, would have to deal with Johnny the Bonnie !!!
Tackled to the ground by Johnny the Bonnie
... so worth a try then, you reckon?