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A former Jersey student who carried Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin at her funeral has been recognised in a special Royal honours list.
Fletcher Harry Cox, who was part of a group of eight from the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards chosen to act as pallbearers, has received a silver Royal Victorian medal.
The accolade came as part of the Demise Honours list - a rare set of honours awarded by King Charles III ahead of his Coronation for those who held important roles during the preparations and funeral of Her Majesty.
Not only were the group of Grenadier Guards responsible for conveying the Queen's coffin to the lying-in-state in Westminster Hall, but also for carrying it into Westminster Abbey for the State Funeral service and for transferring it onto the gun carriage to start the long procession to Wellington Arch.
Later, the group took Her Majesty into St. George's Chapel in Windsor.
Guardsman Fletcher Cox, who was just 19 at the time, was a star student within Grainville's Army Cadet Force.
Pictured: Mr Cox taking a leading role in ceremonial duties in Jersey while part of the island's cadet force. (Simon Langlois)
He was a Senior Cadet Officer by the time he was in Year 11 and ran the detachment at Granville, which is the only non-fee-paying secondary school in Jersey to have its own section in the Jersey Militia Army Cadet Force.
In 2018, Mr Cox was awarded the the Lieutenant-Governor's medal, the highest accolade a Jersey cadet can achieve.
Aged just 16, he left the island to undertake military training in the UK.
He went on to become part of the Queen's Company Guardsmen, an elite British Army infantry unit famed for their bearskin hats and red tunics. They are the senior Guards regiment, who are fully trained combat soldiers.
National media reports suggested the group of pallbearers had been on duty in Iraq before the Queen passed away in September 2022. They were then reported to have returned after her funeral.
Pictured: Mr Cox being congratulated by former Lieutenant-Governor, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton. (Simon Langlois)
Mr Cox received special praise from Jersey's Bailiff, who attended the funeral, and Chief Minister.
"Such dedication, precision and poise. Particularly proud of Jerseyman and Grenadier Guard Fletcher Cox who carried the royal coffin," Deputy Kristina Moore said at the time.
Jersey pallbearer carried out role “brilliantly”
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