Those young men carrying Her Majesty's coffin must have been terrified.

[Minee]

I've never carried a coffin and imagine it must be an emotional and scary thing to do in normal circumstances, but imagine carrying the Queen. With the whole world watching too.

Hats off to them,

Not sure they would be terrified, they are trained for that sort of thing

For sure, a big job indeed.
But having said that - I’ve never carried a coffin myself either, but I do believe and hope it’s a lot less precarious than it looks! No doubt emotional though.

My husband had to carry his grandmother's coffin with his male cousins. He said it wasn't difficult physically (the funeral directors gave them some tips), but it was horrible. He really resented his relatives for putting that expectation on them.

Look on YT for the vid of Winston Churchill's funeral. The coffin was lead lined, had to be carried up the steps of St Pauls, and you can see the strain on the bearers as they carry it. Millions of people willing them not to drop it.

Tbf, Churchill was considerably heavier than the Queen....

Trained to carry the body of one of the most famous Monarchs to ever live in front of millions of people?

They are probably trained to deal with pressure but that's next level!

Who did he think should have carried it?

I’ve carried a coffin. It’s pretty easy - they’re very stable and old people don’t weigh much

Presumably the funeral home staff, they were the ones who did the carrying at my DGM’s funeral.

All royal coffins are lead lined I understand. Diana's was a quarter of a ton.

The coffin is lead lined. It will weigh an immense amount.

I think that’s very sad to be honest. Most men I know would see it as an honour to carry their grandma or mum etc.

In our family the young men always carry the coffin and consider it an honour. My grandma is 98 and has decided her great grandchildren rather than her grandchildren will carry her now. I think those men will be utterly honoured to do this task.

I said the same thing. I would have been shaking like a leaf

That’s very sad there was no one to do it for her.

I’m sure it was nerve wracking.

@LubaLuca that was very hard on your dh if he wasn’t emotionally prepared for the job. By contrast, the last funeral I was at, they had four sets of pall bearers, taking turns because so many wanted to do it. It’s a very personal thing.

In my family it’s considered an honour too. I’ve never heard of anyone being resentful over carrying a grandparent but I can see if the relationship was bad why there may be resentment.

They probably would have been nervous due to the importance of the occasion and they are only human. On the other hand, they are highly trained and know what they are doing.

Without being grisly, they will have had a rota for this task for years. The actual crew will have been trading since the announcement.

it is nerve racking at the time, although this was a very short exposure in public. I knew someone who had a similar role once, he said it was one of the highlights of his service.

Training, of course👿

When I’ve watched programmes about the army eg the Queen’s Guards they are nervous and excited about important state occasions but are trained down to the last centimetre of movement. There was one about the funeral of Prince Phillip and they saw it as a great honour. Everything was so precise it was fascinating and the whole thing passed off without a hitch.

As soon as her Majesty's death was announced they would start rehearsing. Yes they have been well trained but I say with absolute certainty that they would be silently crapping themselves. After all its not every day you carry the coffin of a monarch with the worlds eyes upon you.
Those lads deserve OBEs!!!

I was thinking the same thing. Where I oive family always carry the coffin. The day before the funeral the men in family dig the grave, the also fill in the grave at the burial. I understand some cultures are far more hands off though but being resentful that you got to accompany your beloved relative on their last journey is a new one one me.

I carried my mother's coffin with my two brothers and a nephew. I was distraught, but held it together, and wouldn't have had it any other way. After all she had done for us it was the least we could do to honour her.

I carried my brother’s coffin when he died - it was mainly carried by male relatives including my dad, my husband and my uncles but we had a short few steps where his sisters and female cousins carried it too. I was honoured to do it - the last thing I could ever do for him.