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Sleep, Dearie, Sleep is a traditional Scottish lament for the bagpipes, which was played during the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on 19 September 2022.
"Sleep, Dearie, Sleep" was played at the end of the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey. [1] The Queen's piper, Warrant Officer Class 1 (Pipe Major) Paul Burns, whose task was playing the bagpipes outside the Queen's window each morning to wake her up, performed the traditional lament. [2] [3]
"Sleep, Dearie Sleep" is also the title of the series finale of The Crown , which depicts the Queen planning her own funeral and the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles. [4]
Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, Northern Africa, Western Asia, around the Persian Gulf and northern parts of South Asia.
A staff of office is a staff, the carrying of which often denotes an official's position, a social rank or a degree of social prestige.
Flowers of the Forest, or The Fluuers o the Forest, is a Scottish folk tune and work of war poetry commemorating the defeat of the Scottish army, and the death of James IV, at the Battle of Flodden in September 1513. Although the original words are unknown, the melody was recorded c. 1615–1625 in the John Skene of Halyards Manuscript as "Flowres of the Forrest", although it might have been composed earlier.
Chì mi na mòrbheanna is a Scottish Gaelic song that was written in 1856 by Highlander John Cameron. The song's tune was performed on the bagpipes during the state funerals of John F. Kennedy in 1963, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 2002, Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, Former Ontario Lieutenant Governor David Onley in 2023 and Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in 2024.
William Millin, commonly known as Piper Bill, was a Canadian musician who played bagpipes, and was personal piper to Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat, commander of the British 1 Special Service Brigade at D-Day.
Elizabeth II was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states over the course of her lifetime and remained the monarch of 15 realms by the time of her death. Her reign of over 70 years is the longest of any British monarch, the longest of any female monarch, and the second longest verified reign of any monarch of a sovereign state in history.
The monarchy of Papua New Guinea is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of Papua New Guinea. The current Papua New Guinean monarch and head of state, since 8 September 2022, is King Charles III. As sovereign, he is the personal embodiment of the Papua New Guinean Crown. Although the person of the sovereign is equally shared with 14 other independent countries within the Commonwealth of Nations, each country's monarchy is separate and legally distinct. As a result, the current monarch is officially titled King of Papua New Guinea and, in this capacity, he and other members of the royal family undertake public and private functions domestically and abroad as representatives of Papua New Guinea. However, the King is the only member of the royal family with any constitutional role.
In the United Kingdom, state funerals are usually reserved for monarchs. The most recent was the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on 19 September 2022.
The Piper to the Queen Mother was a position in the British Royal Household in which the holder of the office was responsible for playing the bagpipes at the request of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. The position was established in 1953 and disbanded in 2002 following her death.
Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India, died on 22 January 1901 at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, at the age of 81. At the time of her death, she was the longest-reigning monarch in British history. Her state funeral took place on 2 February 1901, being one of the largest gatherings of European royalty.
Megan Beveridge (born 1994 or 1995 is a Scottish soldier who became the first regular army, female "lone piper" at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The Lance Bombardier from Burntisland, in Fife was also the first female to pass the army's pipe major course. Aged 21, she is also the youngest person to date to have passed.
Operation London Bridge was the funeral plan for Queen Elizabeth II. The plan included the announcement of her death, the period of official mourning, and the details of her state funeral. The plan was created as early as the 1960s and revised many times in the years before her death in September 2022.
The fourth season of The Crown, which follows the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II, was released by Netflix on 15 November 2020.
On 6 February 1952, George VI, King of the United Kingdom, died at the age of 56, at Sandringham House, after battling with a prolonged cancer. His state funeral took place on 15 February 1952. A period of national mourning commenced and his eldest daughter and successor, Queen Elizabeth II was proclaimed the new monarch by the Accession Council. George VI's coffin lay in St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham until 11 February when it was carried, in procession, to the nearby Wolferton railway station. The coffin was carried by train to London King's Cross railway station where another formal procession carried it to Westminster Hall where the king lay in state for three days. Some 304,000 people passed through Westminster Hall with queues up to 4 miles (6.4 km) forming.
Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, died on 8 September 2022 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, at the age of 96. Elizabeth's reign of 70 years and 214 days was the longest of any British monarch. She was succeeded by her eldest son, Charles III.
"Like as the hart" is a composition for unaccompanied choir by the British composer Judith Weir, setting the first seven verses of Psalm 42 from the Book of Common Prayer. It was commissioned for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, at which it was first performed by choirs conducted by James O'Donnell at Westminster Abbey on 19 September 2022.
"Who shall separate us?" is a composition for an eight-part choir a cappella by James MacMillan, setting a passage from the Epistle to the Romans to music. It was commissioned for the state funeral of Elizabeth II, and was first performed at Westminster Abbey on 19 September 2022 by choirs conducted by James O'Donnell.
Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Day was a one-off public holiday that occurred in New Zealand on 26 September 2022. It was observed to mourn the death of Elizabeth II, who reigned as Queen of New Zealand from 1952 to 2022. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that it was a way to allow people to pay their respects and for communities around the country to come together and pay tribute with local events.
"Sleep, Dearie Sleep" is the series finale of the Netflix historical drama series The Crown. The tenth episode of the sixth season and the 60th overall, it was released on 14 December 2023.