Queen Victoria's Funeral

The Queen's body has been taken to Westminster Hall in London, where she will lie in state for the public to visit and pay their respects. Over the past week since her death, we've seen a number of ceremonies and protocols enacted across the country to mark the end of her reign and life. These arrangements and the funeral we can expect to see on Monday follows a precedent set by Queen Victoria upon her death in January 1901. Before Queen Victoria, royal funerals had been quiet, private affairs held at night but Victoria left very clear instructions that she wanted a full military and state funeral, to be dressed in white with white ponies and a gun carriage.

Journalist and author of the acclaimed 'Victoria and Abdul,' Shrabani Basu joins Dan to talk through the last days of Queen Victoria's life, the unprecedented pageantry of her funeral, what happened to those who were there in her last moments and the parallels between these long-reigning monarchs.

This episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.

If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!

To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.