United in grief: How the Queen’s order to break royal protocol after 9/11 and play the Star Spangled Banner outside Buckingham Palace moved a heartbroken nation in a gesture America NEVER forgot
- The Queen ensured the Star-Spangled Banner was played at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and St Paul’s
- The 96-year-old even spotted shedding tear during church service as she broke protocol and joined in singing
- She also visited the World Trade Center site in 2010 and toured the site of the memorial as it was finished off
- The Queen made sure the attacks were remembered in Britain again on the 20th anniversary of the atrocities
- Full coverage: Click here to see all our coverage of the Queen’s passing
The Queen and the Royal family have always held the unwavering attention of Americans unused to the pomp and ceremony of the centuries-old institution.
And Her Majesty cemented her place in the hearts of a grieving United States by famously ordering the Star Spangled Banner be played outside Buckingham Palace just two days after 9/11 in a touching tribute to America.
The monarch, who died on Thursday aged 96, acted quickly and ordered the US National Anthem be played outside Buckingham Palace just two days after 9/11 in a touching tribute to the sister nation.
The move, which was a dramatic change in protocols rarely seen, came during a 45-minute service and saw a staggering 3,000 people – including hundreds of Americans – watch on from outside the towering gates.
Adults and children alike wept through the railings as the band of the Coldstream Guards – wearing their traditional bearskin hats and red uniforms – belted out the song.
Others waved around small US Flags as the anthem came to its crescendo before the crowd passionately cheered as the soldiers continued the Changing of the Guard ceremony.
It was not the only time the Queen reached out after 9/11, with her shedding a tear and singing the Star-Spangled Banner herself during a ceremony she attended at St Paul’s Cathedral later that week.
She also visited the World Trade Center site in 2010 – in what was her first visit to New York City since 1976 – and toured the site of the sprawling memorial as it was being finalized.
And she made sure the memory of the nearly 3,000 people murdered by sick al Qaeda terrorists lived on, having played the anthem again on the 20th anniversary of the killings at Windsor Castle.
Her Majesty, whose reign spanned an astonishing 69 years, passed away at her summer vacation spot at Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire on Thursday.
Heartbroken tributes poured in from across the world for the monarch, who was adored globally for her tireless efforts to unite people across her Commonwealth and bring other nations together.
President Joe Biden and former commander-in-chiefs Donald Trump, Barack Obama and George Bush paid emotional homage to the Royal they all met and adored.
2001: Her Majesty ensured The Star-Spangled Banner was pumped out at the historic London landmark in a touching tribute to its sister country two days after the 2001 atrocities
2001: A photograph, published in the Daily Mail newspaper and across numerous other titles the next morning, showed the monarch wiping away a tear during service to the victims
2010: Queen Elizabeth arrives at Ground Zero on July 6 in New York City to honor the victims of September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center
2021: Coldstream Guards at Windsor Castle – where the Queen was living at the time – played the national anthem to mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks
The Queen’s commitment to the US was captured most dramatically in her touching response following the September 11 attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon.
The day after vile terrorists hijacked planes and took 2,996 lives, Her Majesty ordered the Star Spangled Banner be performed during the Changing of the Guard Ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
Her son Prince Andrew, who was representing his mother that day, was joined by the then US Ambassador to Britain William Farish as they paid tribute.
In one of the most emotional days in world history, the masses crammed into the square outside the palace and sang together in harmony as the Coldstream Guards performed a perfect rendition of the anthem.
They later observed a two-minute silence in what was for many people the first opportunity to pay their respects to the dead and reflect on the magnitude of the atrocities.
The Queen later that day returned to her London home from where she was station over the summer months at Balmoral and met with ambassador Farish.
Meanwhile her son prince Charles was the first to sign a book of condolences put up in the US Embassy in the capital city’s Grosvenor Square.
The next day Her Majesty, her beloved husband Prince Philip and Charles attended a service of remembrance at St Paul’s Cathedral, an iconic building that remains one of the last historic landmarks to tower over the city center.
Adults and children alike wept through the railings as the band of the Coldstream Guards – wearing their traditional bearskin hats and red uniforms – belted out the song
Others waved around small US Flags as the anthem came to its crescendo before the crowd passionately cheered as the soldiers continued the Changing of the Guard ceremony
2001: Britain’s Queen Elizabeth leads a procession to lay flowers on the Remembrance Stone outside Westminster Abbey in London
In a breach of protocols, she ordered the Star Spangled Banner to ring out through the huge auditorium, and even joined in the singing on one of the few times she has broken with tradition twice.
She is usually seen admiring her people as they sing the British national anthem God Save The Queen to her at formal events, but does not join in.
A photograph, published in the Daily Mail newspaper and across numerous other titles the next morning, showed the monarch wiping away a tear during the service.
Her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, who she lost in April last year aged 99, meanwhile read from the New Testament for the thousands packed into the building.
Ten days after the attacks, the Queen released an emotional messaged to New Yorkers, saying: ‘You come together today in St Thomas church in New York united in sorrow by the terrible events of last week.
‘Each and every one of us has been shocked and numbed by what we have witnessed in these recent days. But none of us should doubt the resilience and determination of this great and much loved city and its people.
‘Men and women from many nations, from many faiths and from many backgrounds were working together in New York City when this unimaginable outrage overtook them all.
‘At your service today, we think especially of the British victims. For some of them, New York was simply a stopover on some busy travel schedule.’
She continued: ‘For others it was a workplace of excitement and of opportunity. For many it was a familiar second home.
‘These are dark and harrowing times for families and friends of those who are missing or who suffered in the attack – many of you here today. My thoughts and my prayers are with you all now and in the difficult days ahead.
‘But nothing that can be said can begin to take away the anguish and the pain of these moments. Grief is the price we pay for love.’
She was also going through an emotional time closer to home, as the Queen Mother – as she became called – was suffering from ill health aged 101. She died the following March.
The Queen again made reference to the New York, Washington DC and Pennsylvania attacks in the Christmas address she does every year to wish the world hope for the new year.
She said in part: ‘The year 2001 saw large-scale terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, killing around 3,000 people, the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the UK’s farming community, and famine in Sudan.’
It continued: ‘The terrorist outrages in the United States last September brought home to us the pain and grief of ordinary people the world over who find themselves innocently caught up in such evil.
‘During the following days we struggled to find ways of expressing our horror at what had happened. As so often in our lives at times of tragedy – just as on occasions of celebration and thanksgiving – we look to the Church to bring us together as a nation or as a community in commemoration and tribute.’
Her Majesty again made a touching gesture to the US ahead of the 10th anniversary of the attacks – visiting the site where the Twin Towers were hit in New York City.
2010: Queen Elizabeth II of Britain, Prince Philip and New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg at the opening of The British Garden in Hanover Square
She braved a scorching day in the Big Apple on July 6, 2010, to tour the tragic site as the sprawling memorial was being constructed ahead of the 10th anniversary opening.
Thousands of eager Americans and tourists packed the streets around the monuments and many wept as she was shown around with her husband, who was 89 at the time.
During an eight-minute speech, she told a packed hall: ‘In my lifetime, the United Nations has moved from being a high-minded aspiration to being a real force for common good.
‘Many of these sweeping advances have come about not because of governments, committee resolutions or central directives — although all these have played a part — but instead because millions of people around the world wanted them.’
She also addressed the atrocities that hit the area just nine years earlier, saying: ‘It has perhaps always been the case that the waging of peace is the hardest form of leadership of all.’
Her Majesty was on her third trip to the city – which is a world away from where she has more recently been living in the countryside in Windsor and remote Balmoral – having also been in 1957 and 1976.
Mayor Bloomberg noted at the time how New York was named after her first cousin 10 times removed and said the US was ‘grateful for your friendship, leadership and support’.
More recently the elderly monarch again played the Star Spangled Banner at the 20th anniversary of the attacks last year.
Her guards belted out the US National Anthem during the Changing of the Guard at Windsor Castle at around 11am in yet another touching tribute to the thousands of lives lost.
She also issued a statement to President Joe Biden saying: ‘As we mark the 20th anniversary of the terrible attacks on 11th September 2001, my thoughts and prayers — and those of my family and the entire nation — remain with the victims, survivors and families affected, as well as the first responders and rescue workers called to duty.
‘My visit to the site of the World Trade Center in 2010 is held fast in my memory. It reminds me that as we honor those from many nations, faiths and backgrounds who lost their lives, we also pay tribute to the resilience and determination of the communities who joined together to rebuild.’
2021: In her heartfelt message to President Joe Biden, the Queen reflected on her visit to the site of the attack back in 2010
2021: Guards at Windsor Castle play the national anthem to mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the orders of Her Majesty
2021: Large crowds lined the streets in Windsor this morning as military personnel including a marching band arrive for the Guard Change at Windsor Castle to mark 20 years since the terrible events of 9/11
2021: The Changing of the Guard at Windsor Castle on the 20th anniversary of September 11, 2001, where Star Spangled Banner was played
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