TWO members of Liz Truss’s Cabinet stood vigil at the Queen’s coffin as she lies in state in Westminster Hall.
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace stood solemnly in dark uniforms on Thursday at the raised platform on which the coffin rests.
Both men are members of the Royal Company of Archers, which functions as the sovereign’s bodyguard in Scotland.
The unit also watched over the coffin while it was in St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh earlier in the week.
Changing of the guard Cabinet ministers Alister Jack and Ben Wallace are now standing vigil at the Queen’s coffin, as members of the Royal Company of Archers pic.twitter.com/2rU9Pjppxw
— Glenn Campbell (@GlennBBC) September 15, 2022
After the Queen’s death at Balmoral in Scotland, Wallace said she had “dedicated her life to serving her nation”.
Speaking about the Queen after her death was announced, Jack said: “Her long reign was defined by hard work and dedicated public service, earning her the respect and devotion of her citizens.”
The coffin, which sits on a catafalque and is draped with a Royal Standard, continues to be guarded at all hours by units from the Sovereign’s Bodyguard, the Household Division or Yeoman Warders of the Tower of London.
Part of the late Queen’s household, the Royal Company of Archers (RCA) has been an institution in Edinburgh for more than 200 years, and is based in an A-Listed building, the Archers Hall in Buccleuch Street to the east side of the Meadows.
The was role first created in 1822 during a visit to Scotland by King George IV.
As Princess Elizabeth, the Queen first became acquainted with the Royal Company during a visit to Scotland with her father, King George VI in 1937, when he inspected them at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
