Monday, September 19, 2022

Why isn't Queen Elizabeth II in an open coffin?

 




Members of the English royal family are typically buried in lead-lined coffins for preservation purposes. This is because lead seals the coffin from moisture, slowing decomposition for up to a year. When Princess Diana died in 1997, her coffin also contained this special lining, which is why it weighed nearly 540 lbs.

 

English nobility have followed this tradition for at least four centuries.  Westminster Abbey records indicate that Elizabeth I and Charles II were buried in lead lined coffins, as well as nobles like Sir Francis Drake and revered artists such as George Frederic Handel.

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