LONDON, UK — Buckingham Palace released a photo Saturday giving the first public glimpse of the new ledger stone installed at the final resting place of Queen Elizabeth II.
The image shows the hand-carved Belgian black marble slab with brass letter inlays set into the floor of King George VI Memorial Chapel, St. George’s Chapel, at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England.
Surrounded by floral wreaths and bouquets, it is inscribed with her name and the years of her birth and death, alongside those of her father, George VI; her mother, Elizabeth; and her husband, Philip, who died last year. It replaces a previous slab that had only her parents.
All four royals were members of the Order of the Garter, which has St. George’s Chapel as its spiritual home.
The release came ahead of the queen’s burial site opening to visitors next week as Windsor Castle reopens to the public.
Elizabeth was laid to rest together with the Duke of Edinburgh on Monday evening in a private service attended by King Charles III and other members of the royal family, following her state funeral at Westminster Abbey and committal service in Windsor.
St. George’s is the resting place of 10 former British monarchs, including Henry VIII and the beheaded Charles I. It is also the home of the Order of the Garter, an ancient order of chivalry founded by King Edward III in 1348.
When Philip, the queen’s husband of 73 years, died his coffin had been placed in a different part of St. George’s Chapel, ready to be moved to the memorial chapel to join the queen when she died.
Elizabeth II’s parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, were also interred there along with the ashes of Princess Margaret, the late monarch’s younger sister who died in 2002.
