Council buildings made purple to mark the Queens death

FERMANAGH and Omagh District Council are to illuminate their two civic buildings in purple to commemorate the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.

The proposal was made by Councillor Paul Robinson, Democratic Unionist at the Regeneration and Community Committee meeting, and seconded by Ulster Unionist Councillor Diana Armstrong, “To allow a period of reflection.”

It was agreed Enniskillen Castle and the Strule Arts Centre will be illuminated in purple on Sunday, September 18, the day before the Queen’s state funeral, which has been declared a bank holiday and a national day of mourning.

Following the funeral, the Queen will be laid to rest in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, in the King George VI Memorial Chapel.

She will be joined by her husband Prince Philip, who currently rests in the chapel’s Royal Vault, but will be moved to lie beside the Queen.

The Memorial is also the resting place of the Queen’s father King George VI, her mother Queen Elizabeth, and sister Princess Margaret.

The chapel was founded in 1475 by King Edward III and became the chosen burial place for the Royal Family in the 19th century.

It houses several separate burial places, including the Royal Vault, the Altar, and the Albert Memorial Chapel.

The King George VI Memorial Chapel, where the Queen will rest was constructed in 1969, and her father was moved there from the Royal Vault on its completion, latterly joined by his younger daughter Princess Margaret on February 9, 2002, and seven weeks later on March 30, 2002, his wife the Queen Mother.

By Tanya Fowles,

Local Democracy reporter.