Lying in state

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Lying in state is a term used to describe the tradition in which a coffin is placed on view to allow the public at large to pay their respects to the deceased. It traditionally takes place in the principal government building of a country. While practice differs among countries, a viewing in a location that is not the principal government building is referred to as lying in repose.

1 Canada
2 United Kingdom
3 United States
4 References

[edit] Canada

Lying in state takes place on Parliament Hill in the capital, Ottawa, in the Hall of Honour (for prime ministers) or the Senate Chamber (for governors general). Guards are from the Canadian Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. When prime ministers lie in state, guards are also from Parliamentary security forces - Commons Police, as well as Senate Police. When governors general have their funerals held, guards are also from the Governor General's Foot Guards. Like in the United Kingdom, the guards stand at each corner with heads bowed and weapons inverted ("Resting on Arms reversed") and their backs are turned towards the casket.

Recent figures to have lain in state include former prime minister Pierre Trudeau and Canada's Unknown Soldier, both of them in 2000, former governor general Ray Hnatyshyn in 2002 and Ernest "Smokey" Smith, the last living Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, in 2005.

[edit] United Kingdom

In state and ceremonial funerals in the UK, the lying-in-state takes place in Westminster Hall. The coffin is placed on a catafalque and is guarded, around the clock, by detachments each of four men from the following units:

Foot Guards

Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment
- The Life Guards
- The Blues and Royals

Sovereign's Bodyguard

Each unit mans the guard for a total of six hours, with each detachment standing post for twenty minutes. The four men stand at each corner with heads bowed and weapons inverted and their backs are turned towards the coffin.

On two occasions, the guard has been mounted by four male members of the Royal Family. At the lying in state of King George V in 1936, the guard was mounted by his four sons King Edward VIII, the Duke of York, the Duke of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent. For Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother's lying-in-state in 2002, the guard was mounted by her four grandsons the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, the Earl of Wessex and Viscount Linley. [1]

[edit] United States

Lying in state often takes place in the rotunda under the U.S. Capitol dome. The first leader to receive this honor was statesman Henry Clay in 1852. Since then the honor has been extended to 10 U.S. presidents, including the four who were assassinated, but is not limited to them. Including the most recent person to receive this honor, Rosa Parks, 31 people have lain in state in the Capitol since 1852.

No law, written rule, or regulation specifies who may lie in state; use of the Rotunda is controlled by concurrent action of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The body of any person who has rendered distinguished service to the nation may lie in state if the family so wishes and Congress approves. In the case of unknown soldiers, the president or the appropriate branch of the armed forces initiates the action.

Because lying in state is considered by some in the US to be reserved for former presidents and military officials, when the procedure is followed to honor a civilian, it is sometimes referred to as lying in honor.

The coffin or casket is usually placed on the black catafalque first constructed upon the death of Abraham Lincoln, who lay in state in 1865. The casket is guarded at each of its four corners by servicemen, each representing a branch from the United States armed forces. In the United States the guards face the casket, their rifles are held by their right hand with the rifle butt resting on the floor.

Notable non-Presidential figures who have lain in state include Thaddeus Stevens (1868), Charles Sumner (1874), Pierre L'Enfant (1909, although he died in 1825), The Unknown Soldier (1921), John J. Pershing (1948), Douglas MacArthur (1964), J. Edgar Hoover (1972), Hubert H. Humphrey (1978), the two United States Capitol Police officials killed in the line of duty (1998), and Rosa Parks (2005).

Jacob Chestnut, one of the two Capitol police officers killed in 1998, was the first African American to lie in state in the Capitol. L'Enfant was the first non-governmental official to receive this honor. Parks was the first woman, second African American, and second non-governmental official to receive this honor.

The ten presidents who have lain in state in the Capitol rotunda are: