First picture of Queen’s gravestone revealed as she’s laid to rest with Prince Philip
The first picture of Queen Elizabeth’s gravestone has been released after the late monarch was laid to rest with Prince Philip earlier this week.
The Queen was buried in the King George VI Memorial Chapel in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, alongside her mother, father and husband – the new stone now bearing the names of George VI (1895-1952), Elizabeth (1900-2002), Elizabeth II (1926-2022) and Philip (1921-2021).
The black stone slab - which also features a metal Garter Star in the middle to show that all four royals were members of the Order of the Garter, which has St George’s Chapel as its spiritual home - was set into the floor to replace the old stone that had the names of George VI and Elizabeth inscribed in gold lettering.
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The stone itself is made of hand-carved Belgian black marble, and has brass letter inlays that match the previous ledger stone.
The ashes of Queen’s sister Princess Margaret, who died in 2002, were originally placed in the Royal Vault, before being moved to the George VI memorial chapel with her parents’ coffins when the Queen Mother passed away just weeks after she did.
The burial site will be welcoming visitors from next week as Windsor Castle reopens to the public, with mourners able to pay their respects at St George’s Chapel from 29 September.
Queen Elizabeth passed away on 8 September, sending the nation - and people across the world - into a period of mourning.
After lying in state in Westminster Hall, where people queued for hours on end to pay their respects, a state funeral at Westminster Abbey and committal service in Windsor, Queen Elizabeth was buried at the chapel in a private service attended by her son King Charles III and other members of the royal family.
The King George VI Memorial Chapel, set inside St George’s Chapel, was actually commissioned by the Queen in 1962 as a burial site for her father, King George VI.
She was Britain's longest-serving monarch, with a reign lasting 70 years, and earlier this year she was the first to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee.
She is also the second-longest serving monarch in history, behind Louis XIV's reign of 72 years and 110 days, from 1643 to 1715 - though he only started to rule personally in his 20s, in 1661.
Jess Hardiman