Queen’s love for family and duty honoured in prayer service at St Paul’s Cathedral
Some 2,000 members of the public are attending the service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London
The Queen’s long life of service, love for her family and commitment to duty have been honoured at a service of prayer.
Dean Designate Andrew Tremlett gave thanks for the Queen’s “devotion to all her people” at St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday evening.
Some 2,000 members of the public attended the 6pm service, along with new Prime Minister Liz Truss.
In his bidding, the Dean Designate said: “We remember her long life spent in the service of this country and of her Commonwealth realms around the world.
“We give thanks for a life of devotion to God, her Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer, and of devotion to all her people.
“As we call to mind the promise made at her Coronation that all her judgements should be guided by Law, Justice and Mercy, we rejoice in her steady acceptance of this vocation,” he continued.
“We celebrate her love for her family, her commitment to duty, and her calling to create unity and concord at the heart of the Commonwealth,” he continued.
“We pray for the Royal Family, as they mourn their loss. We pray too for our most gracious Sovereign Lord, The King, that placing all his trust in God, he too may rule over us in peace with justice and compassion.”
Members of the royal family did not attend the London service, broadcast live by the BBC.
Footage of the King’s televised address to the nation was played inside the cathedral, in which he paid tribute to his late mother.
The King ended his address by saying: “To my darling Mama, as you begin your last great journey to join my dear late Papa, I want simply to say this: thank you.
“Thank you for your love and devotion to our family and to the family of nations you have served so diligently all these years. May ‘flights of angels sing thee to thy rest’.”
Ms Truss delivered a Bible reading from Romans 14.7-12.
She said: “We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.”
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and Foreign Secretary James Cleverly were seen listening to her reading before standing for the hymn O Thou Who Camest From Above.
Mourners in the congregation were tearful through the service as the choir sang. One woman was seen using a handkerchief to wipe her eyes as she sat in the pews at St Paul’s.
Members of the public who attended visited City of London tourism office earlier on Friday to collect a wristband. All 2,000 were distributed within three hours, a cathedral spokeswoman said.
Ahead of the service, a hundreds-strong queue had formed, winding from St Paul’s to beyond the Tube station streets away.
Attendees were dressed smartly in black suits and ties while others wore black mourning veils as they waited to take their seat inside the cathedral.
It is just over three months since the cathedral was the setting for a service of thanksgiving – attended by the royal family – during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
The monarch pulled out of attending the service due to the physical demands involved.
As part of Friday’s service, Dame Sarah Mullally, Bishop of London, as Dean of the Chapels Royal, delivered the address, and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby the blessing.
Music included Behold O God Our Defender, Bring Us, O Lord God, At Our Last Awakening, and Nunc Dimittis from Evening Service in G.
All My Hope On God Is Founded, O Thou Who Camest From Above, and The Lord’s My Shepherd were among the hymns.
A half-muffled single bell tolled at the start of the service, while a half-muffled peal will be sounded at the end of the service.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments