As Royal Family members are buried inside a chamber, rather than directly in the ground, their coffins are lined with lead in order to slow decomposition. The lead seals the coffin and prevents moisture from getting in, preserving the body for up to a year.
Lead-lined coffins slow the body's decomposition by keeping moisture out of the casket. Lead does not decay and so remains airtight, preventing decomposition, but also any smells and gases from being released; not something you want if multiple Royals are sharing a vault or may be moved in the future.
Like Prince Philip, the queen will be laid to rest in an oak coffin designed for her more than 30 years ago, and it's bound to weigh a ton, because it's lined with lead. Members of the English royal family are typically buried in lead-lined coffins for preservation purposes.
Lead coffins were also used in Europe during the Middle Ages; these were shaped like the mummy chests of Egypt. Iron coffins were used in England and Scotland as late as the 17th century, when coffins became usual for all classes, including the poor.
Due to the lead lining of the coffin, the casket would be very heavy. It has been estimated that it would weigh between 250kg and 317kg.
Coffins must not have any metal in them, except high ferrous metal such as iron and only when it is needed for them to be made safely. Zinc or lead lined coffins cannot be cremated.
According to a report from Metro UK, lead coffins can preserve one's body for up to an entire year, not only because they are lined with lead, but also due to the fact that they can be sealed airtight, which is said to slow the decomposition of the body.
“Coffins are normally sealed by screwing the lid into the sides but that does not form an airtight seal. “The modern process would be to zinc-line [the coffin]. Zinc is much thinner than lead, and more malleable.
Lead-lined coffins are the coffins of choice for members of the British Royal Family. These coffins are supposedly air and watertight, keeping moisture out. The British press widely reported that this type of coffin could preserve a body for “up to a year longer” after Queen Elizabeth died.
In 1700, a change in English law allowed all people to be buried in a coffin. Previous to this, coffins were for the most part reserved for the wealthiest in society and the poorest people were commonly buried in a shroud or winding sheet, and placed straight into the ground.
Why was Princess Margaret cremated? In the aftermath of her death, “royal watchers” told The New York Times that Princess Margaret had opted to be cremated so that her remains could fit alongside her father King George VI's grave in a vault that was made especially to hold him specifically.
Unlike caskets, coffins have six sides to them instead of four. Plus, the top of the coffin is wider than its bottom. Coffins get tapered to conform to the shape of a human form. A coffin also has a removable lid while caskets have lids with hinges.
Jack Burnell-Williams, a member of the Household Cavalry, died on Wednesday, September 28, after being unresponsive at Hyde Park Barracks in Knightsbridge, London, the Army said in a statement.
However, Her Majesty will be buried in her beloved Windsor, in the King George VI memorial chapel. The chapel is set on the grounds of Windsor Castle, the estate the Queen moved to permanently for the last few years of her life. It is named after the Queen's father, who died from a coronary thrombosis in 1952, aged 56.
As detailed by Express, the English Oak coffin itself is estimated to weigh at least 550 pounds and up to 700 pounds. But why? Well, it's lined with lead, which has been a royal tradition since the Victorian era. Back in the 1800s, sealing a body air-tight inside a coffin was important for above-ground resting.
The Queen will be buried in the King George VI Memorial Chapel, which was constructed in 1969. She will be laid to rest alongside her parents, George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, as well as the ashes of her sister, Princess Margaret, who passed away in 2002.
However, on average, a body buried within a typical coffin usually starts to break down within a year, but takes up to a decade to fully decompose, leaving only the skeleton, Daniel Wescott, director of the Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State University, told Live Science.
After 1 month, the liquefaction process commences. During this stage the body loses the most mass. The muscles, organs and skin are liquefied, with the cadaver's bones, cartilage and hair remaining at the end of this process.
As material in coffins, “lead helps keep out moisture and preserve the body for longer and prevent smells and toxins from a dead body escaping,” said Julie Anne Taddeo, a research professor of history at the University of Maryland.
For protecting the body
People have always tried to protect the body of the deceased for a long time. It's an attempt to care for it even after death. Caskets, be they of metal or wood, are sealed so that they protect the body. The sealing will keep the elements, air, and moisture from getting inside the coffin.
Virtually all modern caskets can be reopened after being sealed. However, caskets are typically only reopened in the event of a criminal investigation or at the request of the deceased's family.
There are several reasons why legs are covered by the casket, including to emphasize a person's face, religious or cultural traditions, and to hide the physical response legs have in death.
Victoria had requested that she not be embalmed, a process long been used by the Royal Family to allow for the monarch's lying-in-state. But she made clear that she didn't want to lie in state, instead asking for a military and state funeral.
Advanced Decay (3-6 Months)
During the advanced decay stage, also known as black putrefaction or late decay, most soft tissues decompose, leaving behind bones, hair, cartilage, ligaments, and other degradation-resistant tissues.
Embalming is a process which has long been used by the royals; it involves preservative fluids being injected into bodies to delay decomposition. Queen Elizabeth I was embalmed after her passing in 1603 and her coffin was placed in Whitehall Palace for three weeks before her burial.