Funeral of Lord Mountbatten

The ceremonial funeral of Admiral of the Fleet The 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma took place on Wednesday, 5 September 1979, at Westminster Abbey following his assassination by the Provisional Irish Republican Army on Monday, 27 August 1979, off the coast of the Mullaghmore Peninsula in County Sligo, Ireland.

Mountbatten's body was brought back to Great Britain after his assassination, where it briefly rested in Romsey Abbey.

On the morning of 5 September, his flag-draped coffin was carried on a gun carriage drawn by 122 Royal Navy ratings to Westminster Abbey for the ceremonial funeral.

The televised funeral service was presided over by Edward Carpenter, Dean of Westminster, with the commendation given by Donald Coggan, Archbishop of Canterbury, and clergy from several Christian denominations leading prayers.

[2] As a royal ceremonial funeral, it was planned in consultation with the Lord Chamberlain's Office, and given the code name "Operation Freeman.

[5] His coffin, along with Doreen, Lady Brabourne's, and Nicholas Knatchbull's were flown back to the United Kingdom arriving at Southampton Airport where they were met by the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales.

[8] Mountbatten's charger, named Octave but nicknamed "Dolly," was lead before the coffin with his boots reversed in the stirrups.

[6] The service began at 11:30 AM BST and was conducted by the Dean of Westminster, Edward Carpenter, according to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.

The fanfare, composed by Sir Vivian Dunn, "Last Post" and "Reveille" were played by trumpeters and buglers from Royal Marines School of Music.

[10] The "Dead March" from Act Three of Saul (HWV 53) by George Frideric Handel was played on the organ as the coffin was carried out of the abbey.

[11] Notable guests in attendance and participants in the service include: From the abbey, the coffin was taken to Waterloo Station on a Land Rover 101 Forward Control of the Life Guards, a regiment of which Mountbatten had been colonel, led by six armoured reconnaissance cars.

[4] A memorial service for victims of the bombing which killed Mountbatten was held on Thursday, 27 December 1979 at St Paul's Cathedral.