Queen's funeral rehearsal was a comedy of errors as even the band went bankrupt… it was a minor miracle that there were no major problems on the day itself

The Queen's funeral plans allowed for only one rehearsal for the entire procession in London.

It took place on September 15, but in the very early hours, to minimize congestion and unwanted media attention.

“It was quite disturbing to be in Downing Street,” Liz Truss recalls. “It can be a pretty noisy place to live.”

There was definitely a lot of yelling that night. “It was a comedy of errors,” said Garrison Sergeant Major “Vern” Stokes. 'Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.'

He was annoyed that some officers on initial reconnaissance seemed more interested in catching up with long-lost friends than in paying attention.

Now the bagpipes were anticipating his first command from the very beginning, meaning the entire parade was out of sync from the start.

The rehearsal took place on September 15, but in the early hours, to minimize congestion and unwanted media attention

It was a small miracle that there were no major problems on the funeral day itself

More worryingly, an entire band went missing simply because their marshalling officer led them to the wrong starting point.

At Hyde Park Corner one of the Gentlemen at Arms went the wrong way and was nearly crushed, possibly fatally, between the gun carriage and Wellington Arch.

The buses that were supposed to take hundreds of troops to Windsor never showed up.

Most worryingly, the parade times were calculated based on the speed of a Guardsman – 90 centimeters – with all bass drums hitting a time of 75 steps per minute.

However, the average pace of a Royal Navy recruit pulling the two-ton gun carriage was found to be closer to 50 centimetres.

The result was that the front of the parade finally said goodbye to the coffin.

It was too late to rewrite the plan – so it was a minor miracle that there were no major problems on the funeral day itself.

© Robert Hardman, 2024

• Adapted from Charles III New King. New Court. The Inside Story by Robert Hardman, published by Macmillan on January 18 for £22. To order a copy for £17.60 (offer valid until 29/02/2024; UK postage free on orders over £25) go to the mail shop. co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937.