Royal Wedding ‘to serve as rehearsal for Queen’s funeral’

The Royal Wedding marks the beginning of a new generation of British royals, but sources are reporting the occasion will also serve as a rehearsal for a more sombre task: Queen Elizabeth II's funeral.

Senior palace officials will take full advantage of the presence of dignitaries and Commonwealth leaders to go through rehearsals necessary for the monarch’s funeral, the Sunday Express reports.

The 29 April wedding procession will use the same route as the sovereign's cortege, when a gun carriage will escort her coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall.

According to the Express, the operation has discreetly been codenamed London Bridge.

"Obviously we all hope such a sad event will be a long way off - HM may be 84 but she's in very good health - yet we need to rehearse the logistics and timings for what will be a huge ceremony," The newspaper quoted a royal aide as saying.

"It may seem odd to think about his grandmother's demise at the same time as William's wedding but having all these diplomats and VIPs in London on 29 April makes it sensible to run through the procedures and things like seating plans.

"The Queen, who is very pragmatic about this sort of thing, knows about the dry run. The arrangements are reviewed annually and any significant changes have to be approved by her. There's no sentimentality involved on her part; she actually takes rather a keen interest in the details."

via Royal Wedding ‘to serve as rehearsal for Queen’s funeral’.