The Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral brought the reality of the heartbreak that bereaved families have been facing for the past 12 months home to millions of people on TV, says a leading Nottinghamshire funeral director.
Anthony Topley, a partner at Gillotts Funeral Directors, based in Eastwood, says that the imagery from inside St George’s Chapel on Saturday, including pictures of the Queen sitting alone in her pew, gave the country a sobering insight into how funerals have had to be conducted under the coronavirus restrictions.
Although held to honour the man who was the Queen’s escort and husband for 73 years and attended by leading members of the British Royal Family, the funeral was still required to observe the same restrictions, including a limit on numbers, the wearing of masks, mourners not from the same households having to sit apart from one another and a ban on singing.
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The Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral brought the reality of the heartbreak that bereaved families have been facing for the past 12 months home to millions of people on TV, says Anthony Topley, a partner at Gillotts Funeral Directors.
As a result, there were no overseas dignitaries in attendance, a small group of singers rather than a choir and huge attention to small details that might have been missed at a bigger and more complex event.
Mr Topley said: “Everybody was talking about how upsetting they found the pictures of the Queen sitting on her own, but the saddest thing is that we have seen very many widows and widowers who have had to do the same over the past 12 months.
“That’s what stood out for me, quite apart from the pomp and the military precision of the pall bearers. It didn’t matter that this was the British Royal Family, when it came to the service itself, the same restrictions had to be observed and everyone got to see just what an effect those restrictions have and how it adds a layer of solemnity to the funeral.
“That is certainly something that we have witnessed time and time again over the past year and it’s been very difficult at times because of the way in which people have had to stay apart from one another and so many of the arrangements they had set their hearts on weren’t allowed.”
In the lead-up to Saturday’s funeral there was much attention paid to what arrangements were allowed, such as the presence of the Duke’s beloved carriage, complete with his personal effects, and the Land Rover hearse, which caused a stir but which is part of a growing trend for alternative funeral vehicles over the past few years.
Anthony Topley, a partner in Gillotts Funeral Directors, based in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire.
Mr Topley said: “We have organised quite a few funerals with Land Rovers, as well as Morris Minors and horse-drawn carriages, but that aside, I doubt that we will ever see this type of funeral ever again in this country.
“It was very much in his image but the way in which it coincided with the coronavirus restrictions meant that it was very different to how it would have been. If the Duke had survived for a few more months and the coronavirus restrictions had been lifted, as we all hope they will do, then Saturday’s service would have been more in line with what we’d expect.
“As it is, it made for a unique occasion which, it has to be said, was conducted flawlessly under what must have felt like huge pressure on everyone involved.”
