THE QUEEN'S coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault following her state funeral.
On September 19, 2022 the world bid an emotional farewell to Queen Elizabeth II who following a spectacular state funeral was lowered into the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel in Windsor but what does 'interred' mean?
What does interred in the Royal Vault mean?
The Queen's coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault in the King George VI Memorial Chapel after a poignant service at Westminster Abbey in front of 2,000 mourners.
The service at St. George's Chapel concluded with the crown, orb and sceptre - symbols of the monarch's power and governance - being removed from the coffin and placed on the altar.
The Lord Chamberlain, the most senior official in the royal household, then broke his 'Wand of Office', signifying the end of his service to the sovereign, and place it on the casket.
It was then lowered or 'interred' in the Royal Vault ahead of a private burial that evening.
The Queen and Philip are expected to be buried together in the Royal Burial Ground on the Frogmore Estate, close to Windsor Castle.
What is the Royal Vault?
The Royal Vault was completed in 1810 under St George's Chapel in Windsor, Berkshire.
It was created for George III, who died in 1820 and is buried along with George IV and William IV.
Others buried there include George III's wife Queen Charlotte and their daughter Princess Amelia, who was the first to be interred in the tomb.
George IV's daughter Princess Charlotte and Queen Victoria's father the Duke of Kent were also placed in the vault.
Princess Margaret, who died in 2002, was cremated and her ashes were initially placed in the Royal Vault, before being moved to the George VI memorial chapel with her parents' coffins when the Queen Mother died just weeks later.
The Times explains that it is located under the quire (where the clergy and church choir are located), near the altar, where there's a slab of black-and-white diamond-shaped stones.
It says this floor slab "is removed for certain funerals, exposing an aperture with a (mechanical) lift.
"Coffins are slowly lowered about 15 or 16 feet, then conveyed along a passageway and through iron gates into the vault."
Inside the vault are "richly ornamented coffins of the royal family, on shelves between the Gothic octagon-shaped columns," the paper adds.
How many Royals are buried in the Royal Vault?
The Queen was the 26th member of the Royal Family to rest in the Royal Vault beside her late husband Prince Philip.
Here is the full list of Royals resting in the vault:
- Prince Philip (d.2021)
- Princess Amelia, daughter of George III (d.1810)
- Princess Augusta, Duchess of Brunswick, sister of George III (d.1813)
- Stillborn son of Princess Charlotte(d. 1817)
- Princess Charlotte (daughter of George IV) (d.1817)
- Queen Charlotte, wife of George III (d.1818)
- Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, father of Queen Victoria (d.1820)
- King George III (d.1820)
- Prince Alfred, son of George III (d.1782, placed in vault 1820)
- Prince Octavius, son of George III (d.1783, placed in vault 1820)
- Princess Elizabeth, daughter of William IV (d.1821)
- Prince Frederick, Duke of York (d.1827)
- King George IV (d.1830)
- Stillborn daughter of Prince Ernest Augustus, son of George III (d.1818)
- King William IV (d.1837)
- Princess Sophia, daughter of George III (d.1840)
- Queen Adelaide, wife of William IV (d.1849)
- Prince Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein, son of Princess Christian (d.1876)
- King George V of Hanover (d.1878)
- Victoria von Pawel Rammingen, daughter of Princess Frederica of Hanover (d.1881)
- Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck, mother of Queen Mary (d.1897)
- Prince Francis, Duke of Teck, father of Queen Mary (d.1900)
- Princess Frederika of Hanover (d.1926)
- Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, grandfather of Queen Mary (d.1850, placed in vault 1930)
- Princess Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge, grandmother of Queen Mary (d.1889, placed in vault 1930)
- Prince Philip (d. 2021)