Is lying in state a closed coffin?

[GreenGreenGrassBlue]

I’m from a country where all our funerals are open coffin so we follow that culture here too and bring the body home for family and friends to visit. I’m assuming it’s a closed coffin due to the number of days for the Queen?

I think there is quite a difference between England's traditions and the rest of the UK. Irish and Scottish often have open caskets. In our wider family, a mix of Irish and Scottish it's traditional to bring the person home and have the open casket in a room where there can be prayers, visitors, etc. I agree OP that it helps with the grieving and acceptance process.

Of course she is.

They’re not being buried under ground; they’re being buried in the king GeorgeVI vault which is a “buried” above ground; so basically they’re being put in a crypt with her parents & the ashes of her sister. There are many kings & queens in the chapel at Windsor; there’s also a below ground buried ground at frogmore which is where is where Edward & Wallace are buried along with Prince William & other prominent royals.

Open caskets are for family only, IMO. It would be beyond weird to have an open casket for the public I think. In this kind of scenario, I think closed is a lot more respectful. Of course cultures vary, I am not saying either way is right or wrong, just my thoughts!

Even on this country old catholic burials can sometimes be open casket for a part of it. Never forget having to gather round my ex Dh’s grandfather’s open casket whilst prayers were said and then we all had to go past and give him as kiss as we left the room. First time I’d actually ever seen a body. Has been offered in the funeral home of some relatives to go and see the body before it was closed but this family member was brought home to be overnight with the family before the funeral.

Every funeral I've been to in Britain - yes, the coffin is closed for the funeral itself, but it is open in the chapel of rest right up until just before the funeral itself so anyone (with the close family's permission) can go and see the body before the funeral. I've never been to a funeral where there wasn't the option of going to see the body if you wanted (although I know it happens if, say, there was a bad accident and the body is in a bad state). And I've been to CofE, Catholic and Romany funerals and they all had that option.

I agree that it helps with the grieving process - it helps your mind process that yes they are really gone, and it is nice to see them one last time.

I went to a funeral in Spain where they didn't even have the body there at all for the funeral!! The burial took place the very next day after death, with just the lady's four children present (not even her adult grandchildren), then the funeral mass happened a week later at the local church. I suppose the hotter climate makes the burial more urgent.

It was the norm in parts of the West Country too at one time, especially on the Welsh/English border. I remember my Mum telling me once, that when my Grandad ( her FIL) died, she was really surprised that my Grandmother (his Wife)and Aunts (his daughters ) did not attend the funeral,only his sons. This was not far from the border with Wales.

I'm from a country close by and we love an open coffin.

An 'open casket' funeral is not the norm in the UK. Having said that it is usual for the coffin to be 'open casket' if the families want it to be while it is in the funeral home, so that families can visit with their loved ones while they are still in the funeral home and the casket will not be closed until the day before or on the actual day of the funeral

My Mother died in July and we chose to do this. We spent an hour or so as a family saying our private goodbyes to her and it was a good thing to do as far as we were concerned. It helps, as you realise the personality of the person who has died is no longer there. It makes it more real as you start to come to terms with the death

Almost certainly the Queen's family will have had time to do that for themselves, in private.

I can understand why you ask the question, but probably nothing to do with the length of time until the funeral, since the coffin is lined with lead which provides an airtight seal: simply that generally that isn't what happens here in the UK.

Not true. Embalming is a choice.

I read online that she won’t be embalmed. Lead lined coffin to stop anything getting in and anything getting out

Thank you OP for starting this thread. It's been very interesting to hear of all the different traditions, and the experiences of other posters, some of which have been really moving.
I'm just sorry that a small minority have tried to derail it with their unpleasant comments.
I'm British, (English/Welsh) and the question of whether or not our Queen would be in an open coffin had crossed my mind and I'm sure it had crossed many other peoples minds as well.

The usual Catholic tradition is to have an overnight repose in church where the priest accepts the coffin usually with family members the priest will say prayers and there will be a short service. The following day the mourners will go Into church and the deceased is already there

I'm English and you are describing my experience with my great grandmother's and great uncle's funerals. This was in the late 80's, so maybe English people do things differently now, but it was certainly normal them.

I never realised that there was such a difference between Irish and English customs when it comes to funerals. A closed coffin in Ireland is usually due to catastrophic injuries etc. So I would have presumed that if I attended a funeral in the UK. Interesting to know it's so different.

Baffled by the 'gawping'/morbid curiousity comments though. Especially after seeing the news today where hundreds (thousands?) of people were lining the streets with their phones in the air taking photos/videos of the coffin. That seems a lot more like gawping to me than people respectfully attending a funeral with an open coffin.

I definitely would not want to see an open casket for anyone. It killed me to see my six-year-old son in an open casket at the funeral home. And before that I saw my stepfather aged 55. I do not want my children to view me in a coffin when I die.

💐Everyflippingusernameistaken

I kind of imagined the Queen might have had a glass lid for when she's 'lying in state', sort of sleeping beauty-esque but it's probably not appropriate.

My one grandfather died when I was only 10 but my other 3 grandparents all died during my 20s, so I went to see both of my grandmother's in the chapel of rest but didn't go to see my other grandfather as I was actually with him, holding his hand when he died and I said my goodbyes then.

One thing I do know is that when I get word that my mother has died, I'll definitely be going to the chapel to so her, to make Cambridge sure she's dead!

As an American who loves all things British, I want to thank you all for this incredible discussion. 🙂 It's been very informative and has given me a new respect for the vast cultural differences in how we humans honor our dead. I look forward to getting up at 2.a.m. next Monday to witness history in the making as your magnificent Queen is laid to rest. God bless you all! 🇬🇧💙✝️❤🇺🇸

I do not want my children to view me in a coffin when I die.

Shouldn't that be up to them? Many people find it comforting, or that it helps with the grieving process (which is not necessarily the same thing).

I remember when my grandma died, and my mum went to the funeral home. She said later that it was the first time she had seen a dead body, and I think the first time being somebody so close made it worse. Oddly enough, that's the side of the family with Irish Catholic blood.

Not ALL bodies are embalmed. Here is a famous example: "VATICAN CITY - Departing from tradition, Pope John Paul II was not embalmed, only “prepared” for viewing by hundreds of thousands of mourners, the Vatican said Tuesday.Apr 6, 2005". People weren't allowed very close to his body though. If you google, you'll find pictures of him & see what an unembalmed body looks like. I believe a week had passed before he was buried in a crypt below Vatican City.

Set the DVR and watch it after-the-fact. QE II isn't running off to anywere.

Generations of my family have taken pictures of the deceased, lying in their casket, as a remembrance of their loved ones. Of course ALL were embalmed and exquisitely prepared for display to 'the public'. The entire process of preparing an individual for display (embalming/scientific/gruesome) then dressing and make-up/art is involved. It requires the skills of highly trained and deadecated people.

In the "olden days" funeral-homes didn't exist, just 'Undertakers'. The Undertaker took the bodies of the deceased, embalmed them (maybe), washed the body, then applied make-up & perfume, to make the deceased 'presentable' for viewing by the public. After then, What? Where?, Who? It's common-sense! The family of the deceased took the deceased 'back home' for 'viewing' by friends/family before burial and then had them buried.