Strained faces of the coffin bearers lent a more personal counterpoint as Queen’s coffin arrived at Windsor
The symbolic end of Elizabeth II’s reign arrived at 4.57pm on Monday when the head of her household ceremoniously snapped his wand of office, a thin yellow staff, and placed it on the late Queen’s coffin.
The lord chamberlain, Lord Parker of Minsmere, a former director general of MI5, broke the stick (originally designed to provide discipline to courtiers) in two, marking the conclusion of both his and the Queen’s service.
