The Lord’s My Shepherd, The Last Post, and a poignant National Anthem: Read the Order of Service for the Queen’s funeral
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Westminster Abbey, 11am, Monday, September 19
Before the service, the tenor bell is tolled every minute for 96 minutes, reflecting each year of Queen Elizabeth II’s life.
MUSIC BEFORE THE SERVICE
Fantasia of Four Parts
Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625)
Romanza (Symphony No 5 in D)
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958)
Reliqui Domum Meum
Peter Maxwell Davies (1934–2016)
Meditation on ‘Brother James’s Air’
Harold Darke (1888–1976)
Prelude on ‘Ecce Jam Noctis’, Op 157 No 3
Healey Willan (1880–1968)
Psalm Prelude Set 1 no 2
Herbert Howells (1892–1983)
In The Country, Op 194 no 2
Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924)
Fantasy on ‘O Paradise’
Malcolm Williamson (1931–2003)
Elegy, Op 58
Sir Edward Elgar (1857–1934)
Andante espressivo (Sonata in G, Op 28) Elgar
Sospiri, Op 70 Elgar
The Procession of Religious Representatives (from the Churches in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the leaders of Jewish, Hindu, Muslim and other faiths) moves to places in the Nave and the Sacrarium.
All remain seated.
ORDER OF SERVICE
All stand.
Her Majesty’s coffin enters the Abbey, surmounted by the Imperial State Crown and the Orb and Sceptre, borne by the bearer party including: The King, The Queen Consort, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, The Princess Royal, The Duke of York, Countess of Wessex, Earl of Wessex, Princess of Wales, Prince of Wales, Princess Charlotte, Prince George, Duchess of Sussex, Duke of Sussex, Earl Snowdon, Peter Phillips; Duke of Gloucester, Prince Michael of Kent, Duke of Kent.
The choir sings:
THE SENTENCES
John 11: 25–26; Job 19: 25–27; 1 Timothy 6: 7; Job 1: 21
The Choir of Westminster Abbey and the Choir of the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace, sing:
Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts; shut not thy merciful ears unto our prayer; but spare us, Lord most holy, O God most mighty, O holy and most merciful Saviour, thou most worthy Judge eternal, suffer us not, at our last hour, for any pains of death, to fall from thee. Amen.
The Book of Common Prayer, 1549
Heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, Write, From henceforth blessed are the dead which die in the Lord: even so saith the Spirit; for they rest from their labours. Amen.
Revelation 14:13
THE BIDDING
By Dr David Hoyle MBE, Dean of Westminster (extract):
In grief and also in profound thanksgiving we come to this House of God, to a place of prayer, to a church where remembrance and hope are sacred duties. Here, where Queen Elizabeth was married and crowned, we gather from across the nation, from the Commonwealth, and from the nations of the world, to mourn our loss, to remember her long life of selfless service, and in sure confidence to commit her to the mercy of God our maker and redeemer. With gratitude we remember her unswerving commitment to a high calling over so many years as Queen and Head of the Commonwealth. With admiration we recall her life-long sense of duty and dedication to her people. With thanksgiving we praise God for her constant example of Christian faith and devotion. With affection we recall her love for her family and her commitment to the causes she held dear. Now, in silence, let us in our hearts and minds recall our many reasons for thanksgiving, pray for all members of her family, and commend Queen Elizabeth to the care and keeping of almighty God.
A brief silence is kept.
All sing:
THE DAY THOU GAVEST
The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended, the darkness falls at thy behest; to thee our morning hymns ascended, thy praise shall sanctify our rest.
We thank thee that thy Church unsleeping, while Earth rolls onward into light, through all the world her watch is keeping, and rests not now by day or night.
As o’er each continent and island the dawn leads on another day, the voice of prayer is never silent, nor dies the strain of praise away.
The sun that bids us rest is waking our brethren ’neath the western sky, and hour by hour fresh lips are making thy wondrous doings heard on high.
So be it, Lord! thy throne shall never, like Earth’s proud empires, pass away; thy kingdom stands, and grows for ever, till all thy creatures own thy sway.
John Ellerton (1826–93); St. Clement Scholefield (1839–1904)
THE FIRST LESSON
1 Corinthians 15: 20–26, 53–end, read by Baroness Scotland, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth
All remain seated as the choir sings:
THE PSALM
Psalm 42: 1–7, composed for this service by Judith Weir CBE
Like as the hart desireth the water-brooks: so longeth my soul after thee, O God.
My soul is athirst for God, yea, even for the living God: when shall I come to appear before the presence of God?
My tears have been my meat day and night: while they daily say unto me, Where is now thy God?
Now when I think thereupon, I pour out my heart by myself: for I went with the multitude, and brought them forth into the house of God;
In the voice of praise and thanksgiving: among such as keep holy-day.
Why art thou so full of heaviness, O my soul: and why art thou so disquieted within me?
Put thy trust in God: for I will yet give him thanks for the help of his countenance.
The Queen’s funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey at 11am on Monday September 19, 2022
THE SECOND LESSON
John 14: 1–9a, read by Prime Minister Elizabeth Truss
All stand to sing:
THE LORD’S MY SHEPHERD
The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want; he makes me down to lie
in pastures green; he leadeth me
the quiet waters by.
My soul he doth restore again,
and me to walk doth make
within the paths of righteousness,
e’en for his own name’s sake.
The choir sings:
Yea, though I walk through death’s dark vale, yet will I fear none ill; for thou art with me, and thy rod
and staff me comfort still.
All sing:
My table thou hast furnished in presence of my foes; my head thou dost with oil anoint, and my cup overflows.
Goodness and mercy all my life shall surely follow me; and in God’s house for evermore my dwelling place shall be.
Psalm 23 in Scottish Psalter 1650 Crimond attributed to Jessie Seymour Irvine (1836–87), harmony by David Grant (1833–93), descant by William Baird Ross (1871–1950)
THE SERMON
By the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby
All remain seated as the choir sings:
Queen Elizabeth waves from the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Platinum Jubilee in June
THE ANTHEM
My soul, there is a country
Far beyond the stars,
Where stands a winged sentry
All skilful in the wars:
There above noise, and danger,
Sweet Peace sits crowned with smiles,
And One born in a manger
Commands the beauteous files.
He is thy gracious friend,
And (O my soul, awake!)
Did in pure love descend,
To die here for thy sake.
If thou canst get but thither,
There grows the flower of Peace,
The Rose that cannot wither,
Thy fortress, and thy ease.
Leave then thy foolish ranges,
For none can thee secure,
But One who never changes,
Thy God, thy Life, thy Cure.
Henry Vaughan (1621–95); from Songs of Farewell Hubert Parry (1848–1918)
THE PRAYERS
Led by Mark Birch, Minor Canon and Precentor, the Prayers are read by:
Dr Iain Greenshields, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland;
Shermara Fletcher, Principal Officer for Pentecostal and Charismatic Relations, Churches Together in England;
Dame Sarah Mullally, Bishop of London and Dean of His Majesty’s Chapels Royal;
Canon Helen Cameron, Moderator of the Free Churches Group;
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster;
Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York
The choir sings Psalm 34:8 as composed for the Queen’s Coronation in 1953 by Ralph Vaughan Williams:
O taste and see how gracious the Lord is, blest is the man that trusteth in him.
The Queen pictured with her son the new monarch King Charles during the Platinum Jubilee
THE LORD’S PRAYER
All stand to sing:
LOVE DIVINE, ALL LOVES EXCELLING
Love divine, all loves excelling,
joy of heaven, to earth come down,
fix in us thy humble dwelling,
all thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesu, thou art all compassion,
pure unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation,
enter every trembling heart.
Come, almighty to deliver,
let us all thy life receive;
suddenly return, and never,
never more thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray, and praise thee, without ceasing, glory in thy perfect love.
Finish then thy new creation,
pure and spotless let us be;
let us see thy great salvation,
perfectly restored in thee,
changed from glory into glory
till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
lost in wonder, love, and praise!
Charles Wesley (1707–88)
All remain standing for:
THE COMMENDATION
The Archbishop of Canterbury says:
Let us commend to the mercy of God, our maker and redeemer, the soul of Elizabeth, our late Queen.
Heavenly Father, King of kings, Lord and giver of life, who of thy grace in creation didst form mankind in thine own image, and in thy great love offerest us life eternal in Christ Jesus; claiming the promises of thy most blessed Son, 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, when Christ shall be all in all; who died and rose again to save us, and now liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, in glory for ever. Amen.
O forth, O Christian soul, from this world, in the name of God the Father almighty, who created thee; in the name of Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, who suffered for thee; in the name of the Holy Spirit, who was poured out upon thee and anointed thee. In communion with all the blessed saints, and aided by the angels and archangels and all the armies of the heavenly host, may thy portion this day be in peace, and thy dwelling in the heavenly Jerusalem. Amen.
All remain standing as the choir sings:
THE ANTHEM
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Alleluia! Amen.
Romans 8:35a, 38b–end, composed for this service by Sir James MacMillan
THE BLESSING
God grant to the living grace; to the departed rest; to the Church, The King, the Commonwealth, and all people, peace and concord, and to us sinners, life everlasting; and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.
All remain standing for:
THE LAST POST
REVEILLE
All sing:
THE NATIONAL ANTHEM
The Queen’s Piper, Pipe Major Paul Burns, plays Sleep, dearie, Sleep. All remain standing as the coffin leaves the church while sub-organist plays Fantasia in C minor
MUSIC AFTER THE SERVICE
Allegro maestoso (Sonata in G, Op 28) Sir Edward Elgar
ST GEORGE’S CHAPEL, WINDSOR CASTLE, MONDAY SEPTEMBER 19, 2022, 4PM
Organ music before service includes works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Dame Ethel Smyth, Herbert Howells and Sir Edward Elgar.
4pm, coffin enters. Bearer party includes senior royals as earlier, but not including William’s children. Includes senior courtiers from both Queen’s and Charles’s households.
PSALM 121
All then sit as the Choir sings:
THE RUSSIAN CONTAKION OF THE DEPARTED
THE BIDDING
By the Dean of Windsor
Extract: We pray that God will give us grace to honour her memory by following her example, and that, with our sister Elizabeth, at the last, we shall know the joys of life eternal.
All remain standing.
ALL MY HOPE ON GOD IS FOUNDED
All my Hope on God is Founded, by Robert Bridges, based on the German of Joachim Neander (1650–80)
THE READING
Revelation 21.1–7, Read by the Dean of Windsor
Extract: I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
THE PRAYERS
Read by the Rector of Sandringham, the Minister of Crathie Kirk and the Chaplain of the Royal Chapel, Windsor Great Park.
All say together:
THE LORD’S PRAYER
All sit as the Choir sings:
THE MOTET
By John Donne (1572–1631) to music by Sir William Henry Harris, KCVO (1883–1973), sometime Organist, St George’s Chapel
All stand for the presentation, in silence, of the Instruments of State, to be received by the Dean of Windsor, from the Queen’s Bargemaster and a Serjeant of Arms, who places them on the High Altar.
CHRIST IS MADE THE SURE FOUNDATION
Christ is Made the Sure Foundation, from Latin 7th century translated by John M. Neale (1818-66)
At the end of the hymn, The Queen’s Company Camp Colour is placed on the coffin by The King having received it from the Regimental Lieutenant Colonel Grenadier Guards.
The Lord Chamberlain breaks his wand which is placed upon the coffin.
Queen Elizabeth II will be buried at St George’s Chapel (pictured) in the grounds of Windsor Castle
THE COMMITTAL
As the coffin is lowered, the Dean of Windsor says:
THE PSALM
Psalm 103, 13–17
Garter King of Arms proclaims:
THE STYLES AND TITLES OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II
THUS it hath pleased Almighty God to take out of this transitory life unto His Divine Mercy the late Most High, Most Mighty, and Most Excellent Monarch, Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, and Sovereign of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.
The Queen’s Piper plays a lament
THE BLESSING
Pronounced by the Archbishop of Canterbury
THE NATIONAL ANTHEM
All remain standing.
THE VOLUNTARY
Prelude and Fugue in C Minor Johann Sebastian Bach
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