to finally share this secret!

[hereforever]

Name changed as potentially identifying, but been here forever.

Many years ago (deliberately being vague but 10+ years ago) my dh came home from work and said he has a massive secret to tell me, that I couldn't tell another soul.....that his company was designing and building the Queen's Hearse. The business is just a small family-run firm based in the North, and whilst they had been making Jaguar hearses for years this was totally unexpected.
The whole team worked really hard on it and it was built with the utmost secrecy and respect, kept hidden until now - very few people even knew it existed (it's been hard sometimes not sharing with family).

I'm having mixed emotions since we saw it on tv last night - as I want to shout from the rooftops how proud I am of DH and the team but so far this is the only place I've shared as I don't want to look crass in what is a very sad time for our country.

So AIBU to finally share this secret and whilst it is very sad, also be very honoured to be part of our Queen's final journey.

That's lovely OP! Well done to your DH. I saw the hearse last night and thought to myself how posh it is. The Queen had a Mercedes hearse in Scotland and this fancy Jaguar in London - very fitting. I had no idea it had been specially made for the occasion.

How will the hearse be re-used in the future?

It's a car really.

It is an honour what your husband and team have done and so you should be proud, i would maybe hang fire shouting from the rooftops at the minute out of respect until after the funeral but there is nothing wrong with briefly mentioning it in conversations. Well done OP husband and team

I mean, I know it's a hearse, but at the end of the day, it just a car.

How exciting OP, your pride is deserved!

God, talk about pissing on OPs chips. Your husband must be very proud to see his craftmanship driving through.

It’s a very nice hearse.What makes it different from other hearses?
I noticed it had lights on the inside.

It's a great piece of work. The draped coffin was clearly visible and especially for the helicopters above filming its progress. The lighting was superb too.

To those saying it's just a car, it's basically a display cabinet to allow maximum vision.

Well done to your DH and team!

Oh lovely! My Dh seemed to think it would have had to have a special gearbox in order to drive so slowly, never occurred to me!

Oh an amazing thing to be proud of. Well done to him

There are some bitter fuckers on here 😂

well done to your DH op ☺️

Thank you @maranella - yes it was made especially for this occasion and the Queen helped to design it. I believe the Mercedes was used in Scotland to honour the funeral director that was used as the car was one of their fleet - whereas in London, Leverton's is the royal funeral director and runs Jaguars anyway.

@Meltingsocks I don't know how or if the hearse will be used in the future - it might go on display somewhere perhaps or will be reused for future state funerals? I'm just guessing though as no idea!

Thank you @123becauseicouldntthinkofone yes, I agree about not shouting about it and waiting, to be honest will probably never shout or share about it due to respect.

Thank you all for allowing me to share the news here.

@hereforever given the carbon footprint of car manufacture I sincerely hope it is re-used. Perhaps it could be donated to charity.

There always one.

Go for it op, I can understand how proud you must feel. They have done a great job.

Wow! I was saying to my DH last night what a fantastic looking hearse! He did a great job!

People asking how it's different and saying it's just a normal car.....

Have you ever tried chopping a car in half and then putting it back together to make it look like a hearse and not a car?!!

It's an incredibly long and tedious process at the best of times, let alone when doing one full handbuilt and a unique design.

It's been built almost fully out of glass, which had never been done before, to allow maximum exposure and light, and the lighting installed inside, I seem to recall it's all reinforced glass and body work too (will check with dh later) as I presume it must have to be bullet proof etc.

The gearboxes aren't normally changed, as the cars are automatic anyway - but again will check with dh on his lunch break.

Thanks again everyone for allowing me to share and for the kind words - dh has worked there for over 30 years and will be retiring in the next 10 years so this will be the honour & highlight of his working life :)

I hope it's reused too, I'm sure there will be a plan for the vehicle, but we will have to wait and see.

Am i the only one that finds this totally bizarre. The idea of the queen needing her own exclusive hearse seems very wasteful to me. Apparently Phillip had his own special Land Rover hearse too. Young people today are crippled with student debt and ever getting onto the property ladder is now merely a dream. All this excess is in such bad taste.

Charlie will already have it earmarked for him.

Thank you for sharing your story OP. I did have a little chuckle to myself wondering what the Queen would have travelled from Balmoral in if it had been left to Prince Phillip to design. Loved his land rover creation! I expect protocol prevailed though.

Does your DH know you've shared this on mumsnet? It is a really public forum, and this will likely be picked up by the papers now.

Almost certainly.

Vehicles used in processions usually run lower gearing to allow the vehicle to travel at walking pace (and in the case of a manual gearbox, to prevent the need to constantly slip the clutch which could cause a breakdown).

Yes but do you need to bring that up now? It's still a big achievement for OP's DH. I'm no royalist either but I was impressed by the hearse and think the OP's hubby deserve a big hand!

YANBU.

I'm not much of a Royalist, but have taken the time to think of the many people behind the scenes in the Undertakers etc. Must be both an honour and utterly scary!