14. Queen Victoria Wanted a Military Funeral
Seeing as Queen Victoria had been on the throne for 64 years, Britain had gone for quite a long time without a monarch’s funeral. As such, there was plenty of room for Victoria to break with tradition regarding how royal funerals were held. She hadn’t been someone who just sat on her throne and sipped tea while eating crumpets all day long. Queen Victoria was the daughter of a soldier and had turned the British Empire into a formidable global force. She was not only the queen of Great Britain but also the Empress of India, at the time a British colony. Her funeral was not to be a church service but somewhat akin to one given for a soldier.
Instead of dukes serving as pallbearers, as had traditionally been done for royal funerals, Victoria requested that equerries — equestrians who served the royal household — be the ones to handle her coffin. The casket was transported via a gun carriage, which is a mount used for heavy artillery, down the streets of London in a military procession. Her funeral broke so heavily with tradition that it set the stage for how state funerals are now conducted, not only in Britain but throughout the world.
