Mourners Urged to Only Toss Single Flowers on Queen's Funeral Route
Queen Elizabeth's 25-mile-long funeral procession route from Westminster Abbey to Windsor Castle has inspired mourners to toss flowers toward the Queen's hearse. But those who did so were asked to follow a certain set of instructions.
Officials from the London Borough of Hounslow shared to the borough's website that while it's expected that residents will want to throw flowers, some of which wound up on the hood of the hearse, they must only throw single flowers with any wrapping removed.
"Please only throw single flowers and please ensure you remove all plastic packaging," officials urged on the website. "Please do not throw or leave other tributes such as teddy bears. Bouquets and other floral tributes can be placed at war memorials and places of worship across the borough."
BBC America
Officials also encouraged onlookers to watch the hearse passing by if they wished to do so, but warned of "substantial" road closures and that no public toilets would be available on the procession route. (Additionally, many local shops and businesses along the route had closed to observe the Bank Holiday, and as a mark of respect for Queen Elizabeth.) Road closures were also to be expected.
BBC America
"The police are not setting a specific time on Monday to reopen the affected roads," officials shared. "Roads will be reopened as soon as it is safe and practical to do so after the late Queen's funeral cortege has passed, members of the public have dispersed, and floral tributes and other litter have been removed from the route."
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MARCO BERTORELLO/POOL/AFP via Getty
In addition to the meaningfulness of the flowers tossed by mourners towards her procession, there was special significance to those place on top of her coffin.
The wreath of flowers, displayed Monday, was chosen by Queen Elizabeth's son King Charles III, who opted for pieces selected from the gardens of Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Charles' country home of Highgrove House. It included Rosemary and myrtle, the symbol of a happy marriage, which was cut from a plant that stemmed from myrtle in the Queen's 1947 wedding bouquet.
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Additionally, garden roses, autumnal hydrangea, sedum, dahlias and scabious in shades of gold and pink and deep burgundy with touches of white to match were there to match the Royal Standard, which draped the coffin. The wreath was made sustainably, in a nest of English moss and oak branches and without using floral foam.
Queen Elizabeth herself helped design her hearse, as the Royal Household and Jaguar Land Rover sought her input before she died. The vehicle was designed to allow mourners to have a clear view of the her oak coffin, and featured her personal Royal Cypher.
