Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Rebecca Speare-Cole & Kaitlin Easton

Buckingham Palace releases first photo of Queen's final resting place

Buckingham Palace has released the first photograph of the new ledger stone installed at the Queen's final resting place in Windsor Castle

The hand crafted Belgian black marble slab, in the King George VI Memorial Chapel in St George's Chapel, has been inscribed with the Queen's name, alongside her mother's, father's and husband's

The new stone where the monarch was buried has been set into the floor after replacing the old stone that had the names George VI and Elizabeth inscribed in gold lettering.

The fresh stone now contains, in list form, "George VI 1895-1952" and "Elizabeth 1900-2002" followed by a metal Garter Star, and then "Elizabeth II 1926-2022" and "Philip 1921-2021".

All four royals were members of the Order of the Garter, which has St George's Chapel as its spiritual home.

The stone is made of hand-carved Belgian black marble with brass letter inlays, to match the previous ledger stone.

The picture shows the stone also surrounded by floral tributes and wreaths.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip pictured together in 2007 (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

It comes ahead of the Queen's burial site opening to visitors next week as Windsor Castle reopens to the public.

People can pay their respects at St George's Chapel from September 29, just over a week after the late monarch's funeral.

The Queen was laid to rest together with the Duke of Edinburgh on Monday evening in a private service attended by the King and the royal family, which followed her state funeral at Westminster Abbey and committal service in Windsor.

When Philip died 17 months ago, his coffin was interred in the Royal Vault of St George's, ready to be moved to the memorial chapel - a pale stone annexe added on to the north side of the building behind the North Quire Aisle in 1969 - when the Queen died.

Members of the royal family follow the bearer party carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II into Westminster Hall (PA)

The Queen's sister Princess Margaret, who died in 2002, was cremated and her ashes were initially placed in the Royal Vault, before being moved to the George VI memorial chapel with her parents' coffins when the Queen Mother died weeks later.

The King George VI Memorial Chapel, which sits within the walls of St George's Chapel, was commissioned by the Queen in 1962 as a burial place for her father King George VI - designed by George Pace and finished in 1969.

The chapel will reopen to visitors next week on all days the castle is open to the public, excluding Sundays when it is only open for worshippers.

Entry to the castle is £28.50 for adults on Saturdays and £26.50 on other days, according to the website.

The royal family is continuing its period of mourning for the Queen, to be observed until seven days after the funeral.

Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.

READ MORE:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.