Description
Honouring a beloved queen on the first anniversary of her passing
On Monday 19th September 2022, Queen Elizabeth II was laid to rest. Her state funeral was the first held in Britain since Winston Churchill’s in 1965. The funeral service at Westminster Abbey was followed by a procession that featured around 3,000 military personnel, and around a million people lined the route through central London. The state hearse then transported The Queen’s coffin to Windsor, where after a committal service at St George’s Chapel, The Queen was interred with her husband, Prince Philip, in the King George VI Memorial Chapel.
The design of this new sovereign recalls the impressive Memorial Procession, a key part of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. Using a triple-finish Proof minting technique, it simulates a ‘row’ of service personnel, to acknowledge the formed rows of service men and women who took part in the actual procession. The main image is of a RAF airman: in addition to marching in the precession, the regular RAF bands provided continuous music throughout the procession, including funeral marches by Beethoven, Mendelsohn and Chopin. Big Ben tolled for the duration of the procession, which marched at 75 paces to the minute, a speed reserved for funerals. The result is a coin of beautiful contrast, and when this is minted onto lustrous 22 carat gold the result is truly superb.
A fitting tribute to one of Britain’s greatest monarchs
All these features make this new sovereign a desirable coin to own. Now that the emotions of The Queen’s sad passing have settled and we approach the anniversary of her death, many people are looking for a way to memorialise her incredible reign and remember how we all felt a year ago, watching the state funeral of a queen loved and admired around the world.
The monumental sight of massed bands and marching regiments, the magnificent effort of transporting the coffin atop the traditional gun carriage, the colour and sound and dignified splendour of it all left us in no doubt that the funeral procession of Elizabeth II would be something to remember. It was an incredibly impressive display and the embodiment of tradition – Britain rose to the occasion and gave a beloved monarch a fitting send-off.
Authorised by Ascension Island and approved by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Buckingham Palace, it is a fitting tribute to one of Britain’s greatest ever monarchs.
The sale of every coin will benefit SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, of which Queen Elizabeth II was Patron for the entirety of her reign.
SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, provides welfare and well-being assistance to our forces and their families. This is a charity which the late Queen Elizabeth II supported from the very start of her reign, taking her father’s place as Patron upon his death in 1952. In recent years, even when Her Late Majesty was reducing her workload, she remained as Patron of SSAFA, actively supporting their work and retaining a keen interest in the people and
families they helped.
Each 2023 Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Sovereign will support SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, and the continuation of their welfare and well-being assistance to our forces and their families, with 10% of all net profits paid in support of the charity.
