Sandra Chapman: A Royal funeral to remember

We didn’t have television – we didn’t even have electricity in that remote part of south Derry – but we knew that history was happening far away in London; a Queen was being crowned and it was something to celebrate.

I remember that day as though it was yesterday, a measure of the impact having a Royal Family had on me at such a young age.

Yesterday that same Queen parted company with us all as the pipers played, soldiers marched and naval ratings nobly carried her to her celestial home to join the family she loved and lost throughout her life.

Meeting up with our loved ones again is what we all hope for eventually. It was her turn.

She has left us feeling grateful we had been her loyal subjects. Yesterday my village was silent, no vehicles passed by, no-one was out walking or running to keep fit. Television was as close as we could get to saying good-bye to Her Majesty.

We will remember that funeral procession for the rest of our lives; one commentator described it as ‘a majestic sight’. We will remember too that a monarch has to die to make space for a successor.

Eventually the sadness is erased when the successor is crowned creating an opportunity perhaps for all six-year-olds to dance in the garden or join the adults’ party.

A bit of pageantry contributes to history, it makes us feel proud we belong to a nation, grateful we had a Queen who was with us through the bad times and who understood loss.

She was a Queen whom one commentator described as ‘having had an instinct for wise diplomacy’.

The Empire she inherited was very different to what it is today. We know too that other world leaders and those in difficulties have sought her advice. They came to her funeral yesterday, no doubt met the new King and took the opportunity to pick brains here and there.

Our late Queen had a great love for Scotland. I too have that and when I hear haunting Scottish melodies such as ‘Caledonian Sky’ or ‘Farewell Maree’ by the young singing group Skerryvore I feel a hunger to return even if it’s just to sit out a gale in a safe harbour which often has been the case.

The Queen loved her Scottish ancestry too and it was in Scotland where she died. She spent up to three months a year in that part of her Kingdom and we may never know how she felt about the attempts to make Scotland independent of the UK, a political battle being fought by the current SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon.

Ms Sturgeon attended Her Majesty’s funeral and we will probably never know what advice she has given Ms Sturgeon in the past or even if her advice was sought. Will the SNP exploit the change in the English Throne or will the late Queen’s desire to keep the United Kingdom intact dampen down the SNP leader’s independent ambitions? We don’t know the new King’s view but to date a majority of Scots are happy as they are politically.

King Charles’ nature is to protect tradition and he would have appreciated the traditions that went with his mother’s funeral right down to the much-aged limousines led by a motorcycle with pale blue flashing lights, looking like something straight out of Star Wars.

Our late Queen would have been proud of her send-off, from the magnificent music of the funeral service to the sight of her well-behaved great-grandchildren, to the enormous crowds who showed respect and love in so many ways.

David Beckham queued for 13 hours just to be able to bow at her coffin for a few seconds. Many queued even longer and yesterday’s service at Westminster Abbey was a masterpiece in how to do a Royal farewell.

For me the sight of 142 Royal Navy ratings drawing the coffin was breathtaking, a tradition from the time of Queen Victoria. It truly was a Royal funeral to remember.