Yahoo Finance Queen Elizabeth's Funeral Ended with a Rendition of "Sleep, Dearie, Sleep"
Queen Elizabeth's state funeral was a grand affair. Held at Westminster Abbey on September 19, 2022 in London, England, the funeral saw world leaders and royalty from around the world travel to pay their respects. The funeral ended with the Queen's Piper, Pipe Major Paul Burns of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, playing "Sleep, Dearie, Sleep," adapted from a Gaelic song called Caidil mo ghaol.
That tune—"Sleep, Dearie, Sleep"—is the name of The Crown's final episode. In the series finale, both Queen Elizabeth (Imelda Staunton) and Prince Philip (Jonathan Pryce) are planning their funerals. The Queen, as she works on choosing her music, asks the Piper to the Sovereign (Paul Tinto) if there was a tune he thought may work for the funeral.
"There are a number of laments written for fallen soldiers, ma'am," he tells her.
"But is there a particular one you like?" the Queen asks him.
"What, me, ma'am?" he replies.
"Yes, Pipes. You," she says.
"There is.. there is one I particularly like. It's 'Sleep Dearie Sleep.'"
The Queen asks him to play it for her now, and he begins.
While we will never know how the Queen's request for music at her funeral went down, what we do know is that "Sleep, Dearie, Sleep" did in fact play at the close of her funeral.
As The Queen's Committal Service comes to a close, Her Majesty's Piper plays a lament. pic.twitter.com/4DVIUuCoPO
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) September 19, 2022
The tradition of Piper to the Sovereign, a royal bagpiper, dates back to Queen Victoria. Each morning, Queen Elizabeth was awakened by a bagpiper playing outside her window. Paul Burns, the Queen's last Piper to the Sovereign, played at her funeral.
Burns now works for King Charles. As a royal source told the Sun, "His mother adored having her piper. It’s a lovely tradition. Everyone remembers that moment the Pipe Major finished the committal as he played the pipes, turned his back and walked away. The King was full of admiration for how he carried out his duty for the Queen."
The source added, "Everyone is delighted the quirky job did not disappear with her. The tradition is for it to happen at 9 am. But the King is always awake much earlier."
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