The two-kilometre procession for Queen Elizabeth II on Monday was led by four Canadians, representing the country’s major role in her funeral.
Arriving on horseback, they are members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) musical ride, a troop of riders who the Queen specifically requested be there for her funeral, said Sgt.-Maj. Scott Williamson, who serves as riding master for the RCMP.
The Queen and the RCMP developed a close relationship over the years. Then Princess Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, saw a performance of the Musical Ride in Regina during their official visit to Canada in 1951. In 1953, 46 men and horses were dispatched to perform at her coronation.
Her fondness for horses is well known, and it's the foundation for a bond that flourished in 1969. After the RCMP presented her with a coal black filly born in Fort Walsh, Sask., called Burmese, it would become her favourite horse, one she would ride for 18 years.
Seven other gift horses would follow. It is assumed that the Mounties’ prominent role in the procession was because of the long-standing relationship between the RCMP and the Queen.
Along with National Health Service employees from Britain, four of the Queen's newest Canadian horses led her coffin. They are Darby, ridden by Sgt.-Maj. Scott Williamson; George, ridden by Const. Katy Loisel; Elizabeth, ridden by Cpl. Justine Rogawski; and Sir John, ridden by Supt. Kevin Fahey.
Cpl. Derek Quilley accompanied the four police to London and joined the procession on foot.
The fourth horse, Elizabeth, was gifted to the Queen for her Diamond Jubilee and was named after the Queen Mother.
Cpl. Justine Rogawski, who rode Elizabeth, told CTV News on Sunday that she considered the opportunity a ‘great honour.’
“We all swore an oath to the Queen and I feel like there is also that connection,” she said.
Following the Mounties in the funeral procession were recipients of the George Cross, NHS workers, members of the Northern Ireland Police Service, and military units. Seven groups marched collectively.
“I would call and consider this a ‘no-fail mission.’ We’re ready to send her majesty home,” Williamson told CTV News.
Cpl. Quilley's first name has been corrected to Derek.
The Israeli military targeted a top Hezbollah figure in a strike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday, two security sources in Lebanon said, sharply escalating the year-long conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed group.
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An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.
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