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 nice op, there is a lot of craftsmanship in something like that. A guy we used to know refurbished horse drawn hearse.
Of course she needs a special one, the whole world will be watching, they aren't going to day hire something from the co-op!

That really is quite something. Your DH must be very proud.

Your DH work must be of excellent quality and the company must be very well respected to be trusted with this task.

You have every right to be proud of him.

Perhaps you could go & piss on your own chips!!

what happens to it now us not under @hereforever 's control! So stop banging on about it!

@hereforever it is a lovely hearse, I'm upset the Queen needed one, but as she does, it should be a lovely one! DH & the team have made a great job of it. They should all be proud!!

Ignore the negative posts, some people just can't help themselves!!

God, talk about pissing on OPs chips.

I think some posters only come here to do that so that they can feel better about their probably miserable lives.

It went past my flat last night (central London). We are not royalists but went to the window to have a look. Yes it is very well designed and the lighting inside worked well. A great achievement for the designers and builders.

also be very honoured to be part of our Queen's final journey

Erm, your DH is part of it. Sorry, but you're not.

Expect to read your post in the Daily Mail tomorrow.

What a lovely job your DH did, OP. Congratulations to him.

Expect to read your post in the Daily Mail tomorrow

Indeed. It's probably not going to reflect well on OP's DH / his company that this has been posted. OP was right initially: it's crass.

so?

millions of people have seen it now, the design is no longer a secret.

it's not exactly a secret the Queen's body has been in a hearse. It's no secret it was a jag or that it would have been designed for the Queen with her input.

or that someone's DH was part of the design team.

what exactly is the issue??

Great job and he should be very proud and how lovely the queen was involved in the design.

While watching the footage I remember thinking how the hearse had clearly been designed to allow maximum visibility. Very much in keeping with HMQ's philosophy of "being seen to be believed", with all the brightly-coloured outfits to ensure that her diminutive figure could be spotted in a crowd.

This. I hope everyone who worked on the vehicle is very proud.

I really don't understand why people need to share such personal information in order to garner validation and likes.

Your dh and team were tasked with the Queen's hearse, they should've asked you to sign a confidentiality clause. It's utterly tasteless of all these people now coming out of the woodwork and divulging information about someone who is no longer with us.

The same goes for anyone who's died and people can't just be quiet. A secret is a secret for a reason and some people really need to learn to keep things to themselves.

Oh do behave.

it's not reflected glory from someone's death.

it justified pride in her DH & team making a beautiful car for the Queen's final journey.

what exactly is the issue??

As OP said herself, it's crass to shout it from the rooftops. I imagine the contract came with expectations around discretion / sensitivity etc and that taking to a public forum will reflect poorly.

Well done for keeping it a secret for so long. I feel kind of glad that she helped design it… not sure why. Also I wonder if it’ll just become the royal hearse now, for the big guns like Charles etc. Maybe monarchs only? I can’t imagine them designing a new one if this one did the job…

Random question but are all hearses converted cars then? I’ve not much experience of them but it never occurred to me, I guess I just assumed someone made them as hearses. Strange.

Your DH must be very proud OP, and thank you for sharing. My DH works for JLR and was most affronted when I glanced at it yesterday and asked if it was a Rolls Royce.

I wonder what would have happened if she'd died at Buckingham Palace - would she have needed a hearse, as doesn't she go from here on a gun carriage?

Ignore the haters, OP.
It must be an honour to

@TooMuchToDoTooLittleInclination I respectfully disagree.

Argh this bloody website!

It must be an honour to be part of anyone's final journey, least of all the lady who was our Queen for 70 years!

Me too! Well done to your DH Op!

Not only that, but a coffin at each of her residences because she could have died at any of them.

What an honour for him. He must be so satisfied that his work will be seen (and not seen, as people will be looking at what's inside) and he has done just what the Queen wanted. No one thinks about all the planning and details that go into these occasions and how long ago the process was started.