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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to finally share this secret!

343 replies

hereforever · 14/09/2022 09:40

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.

to finally share this secret!
OP posts:
Motnight · 14/09/2022 17:24

Well done to your husband, Op!

My dh was involved in the building of the Queen's carriage in The Crown!! We were very proud with that😂

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 14/09/2022 17:38

the fact that the hearse was little up like a dodgems attraction at a funfair seemed to me to be deeply grisly

The queen always said that 'I have to be seen to be believed.' She knew that even in death people would want to see her, and she arranged for the hearse to be lit up so if it was dark people could see her. Did you think the hearse driver decided it would be a bit of a laugh to light her up like Blackpool tower?

Someone on here said that the hearse 'looked like a little light boat sailing down the M40 in the dark, like an Armada, with all the cars around it stopped.' And so it did, a little beacon of light and duty and all the qualities HM embodied forging on sturdily on through the wet miserable evening.

Ignore the naysayers on here, some people aren't happy unless they're dragging someone down. The hearse was superb and you're rightly proud of your OH.

goodbyestranger · 14/09/2022 18:30

For goodness sake why is anything not plauding the rf or something to do with the rf translated as dragging someone down? The world has gone mad since the Queen died. Clearly everyone else on here thought the hearse was the bee's knees and that's fine. I happen to think it tacky that's all, but I'm not really into coffin watching where others very clearly are, which is also fine.

SantanaBinLorry · 14/09/2022 18:44

I agree @goodbyestranger . Its been a bit bizarre around here the last few days.

EssentialGarage · 14/09/2022 23:06

goodbyestranger · 14/09/2022 18:30

For goodness sake why is anything not plauding the rf or something to do with the rf translated as dragging someone down? The world has gone mad since the Queen died. Clearly everyone else on here thought the hearse was the bee's knees and that's fine. I happen to think it tacky that's all, but I'm not really into coffin watching where others very clearly are, which is also fine.

Because this thread wasn't about any of that. It was about an OP who was proud of her husband.

If you don't agree just walk on by, I don't get the glee and pleasure people get from pissing on someone's parade.

Frazzledmummy123 · 14/09/2022 23:44

Fraine · 14/09/2022 09:44

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

Do you want extra lemon with that bitterness?

goodbyestranger · 15/09/2022 08:46

If you don't agree just walk on by

So now AIBU is merely an OP echo chamber, since the Queen has died?

FeatherBlower · 15/09/2022 11:50

And why to people want to gawp at a coffin anyhow. It's just weird

Whatever you do don’t go abroad! Open caskets, displaying corpses, leaving bodies out to be eaten by vultures, digging up loved ones, dressing dead loved ones up, dancing with them, taking their fingers…We’re so tame in the U.K. in comparison to some cultures, boring too. It all depends on your view of what happens after we die. And how people grieve and pay their respects to their deceased loved ones varies massively. And we should respect how others feel it best to grieve, so if people want to see a coffin why not. If makes them feel better, they pay their respects and it helps to give them closure. It’s not for me, I think funerals are ridiculous, but I would never question what someone else wants for themselves or their loved ones. Grief is a personal thing.

fussyhousewife · 15/09/2022 18:17

It is a lovely hearse which showed off the coffin well. Well done her Majesty and your DH for the design.

Insanelysilver · 15/09/2022 18:34

What an Honour. Congratulations to your husband and you for not blabbing all this time! You should get a medal for that lol 😂

Wolfiefan · 15/09/2022 18:39

So many people watched the footage or lined the streets to see the hearse carrying the Queen pass by. Such a historic event to have been a part of. And the craftsmanship and attention to detail were so clearly on show. I hope he’s proud. Wishing him happy retirement when it comes

faffadoodledo · 15/09/2022 18:51

Lovely OP. Skilled craftspeople and engineers making stuff in this country. That's a GOOD thing.

Blueseasky · 15/09/2022 19:03

I wonder if the Queen saw her hearse 🤔

blubberyboo · 15/09/2022 19:10

It was beautiful OP so well done to your DH and colleagues.

Hopefully someday a programme will be made about the vehicles used in such event to learn the detail

Eatdrinkbemerry · 15/09/2022 19:10

@LivingOnAnIsland

Fraine · Yesterday 09:43
It's a car really.
No it's not, it's a hearse - and if you can't tell the difference, your family should maybe pop you into the back of a Micra when your time comes. Congratulations to your husband OP.

😂😂that really made me laugh

Handsnotwands · 15/09/2022 19:18

How lovely OP. I used to work for a company who made things on a private level for members of the royal family.

It’s nice to know you’re making the very best of the best and that’s been recognised.

Endoftether2000 · 15/09/2022 19:20

hearforever I think your have every right to be proud of what your husband and the team he worked with achieved. This is an engineering feat and it is something most of the world has now seen. Well done 👏and ignore those who Diss this achievement they are the kind that just want to p on everybodies bonfire

Iusyje · 15/09/2022 19:20

As long as the company is free to let people know they built it, I say, be proud and let people know. Well done to your DH and his team.

ShockedConfused1980 · 15/09/2022 19:33

So your DH works at JLR? I mean will it be easy to work out who he is or is it no longer too secret? I imagine it wasn’t a huge team?

Im just thinking professionally for your DH to maintain discretion (and courtesy) maybe just wait?

threatmatrix · 15/09/2022 19:43

Fraine · 14/09/2022 09:44

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

Did you need to comment.

blondieminx · 15/09/2022 19:47

YANBU to be very proud.

prh47bridge · 15/09/2022 19:47

ShockedConfused1980 · 15/09/2022 19:33

So your DH works at JLR? I mean will it be easy to work out who he is or is it no longer too secret? I imagine it wasn’t a huge team?

Im just thinking professionally for your DH to maintain discretion (and courtesy) maybe just wait?

No. OP says he works at a small, family-run business in the north. That would be Wilcox Limousines of Wigan who actually carried out the conversion.

Moll2020 · 15/09/2022 19:54

What an honour. Your DH & team should be very proud.

MamaSharkDooDooDooDooDooDooo · 15/09/2022 20:00

Thank you for sharing. I love stuff like this. Randomly, when I saw the hearse I was thinking it was really lovely and had been designed really well - it allows the coffin to be seen far more than a 'usual' hearse.

My grandmother worked on the Queen's wedding dress (she was the same age as her but sadly passed away nearly twenty years ago) and she was always very proud to be able to say she was part of it. It's lovely that your husband has a part in history. Big congratulations to him (and to you for keeping that secret all these years!)

Missingpop · 15/09/2022 20:40

There’s a time & a place for this sort of thing & it’s not now; wait until after the funeral & then blow your old man’s trumpet; to all & sundry; right now it’s best to show some rest to the dear lady who’s served our country so well

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