A GRAND gypsy funeral saw a woman clothed in a white wedding dress as she was carried in a see-through coffin through packed streets of London.
The extraordinary ceremony saw Pauline Devlin have a send off “fit for a Queen” as she was processed by a fleet of Rolls Royce cars and six white horses to a cemetery.
SuppliedIncredible footage shows the white carriage being led along a road[/caption]
SuppliedPauline Devlin was displayed to the public in a one-of-a-kind see-through casket[/caption]
A New Orleans-style jazz band played music as the traveller, who died aged 50, was taken to her grave at Kensal Green Cemetery.
A relative said she had suffered from a condition which left her mute and was never able to marry.
He added: “Pauline never had a wedding day and so we had this funeral to make up for it.
“There has never been a funeral like this in the traveller community.”
Her body was displayed to the public in a one-of-a-kind see-through casket, as a Mississippi-style brass band played tunes including When The Saints Go Marching In.
Incredible footage shows the white carriage being led along a road by undertakers in top hats, with Pauline on show, as she made her final journey on Saturday.
Friends and family lined the streets to watch the procession, which was all in white as a tribute to Pauline, who never married.
She was seen in a Victorian dress, with her hair styled and a face full of make-up in a tribute from her family.
One tearful relative said: “Pauline was loved by everyone. It was a send-off fit for a queen. It was Devlin all the way.
“We normally have black in the gypsy community, but because Pauline was never married, never had a child, and never managed to get down the aisle, this was her send-off.
“As much as it was to say goodbye, it was also to give her a big day that she never got.
“She was buried next to her mother Angela Coyle.
“That made the Sun newspaper in 2009, due to being one of the biggest funerals ever.
“She was named the Queen of Hertfordshire.
“We used a very unusual coffin. It was see-through. The only other time I think it’s ever been done in the UK was for a Pope, I believe, and royalty.”
The coffin was specially made, and was placed into another box before it was lowered into the ground due its fragility.
Pauline passed away from pneumonia before she was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, with her grave adorned with a sea of hundreds of white roses.
SuppliedPauline passed away from pneumonia before she was buried[/caption]
SuppliedShe was processed by a fleet of Rolls Royce cars and six white horses[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
