Luxurious funeral of the English Gypsy Queen

The "Queen of the Gypsies", who has 52 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, died at the age of 78 in Wales, and her relatives gave her a funeral that the living would envy.

Ruby Pearl Marshall died of heart and kidney failure on May 12, and hundreds of people paid their last respects to her in the city of Merthyr in Wales.

(13 photos in total)

Source: Daily Mail

After the memorial service at St Tydfil's Old Parish Church, the procession headed towards Glintaff Cemetery in Pontypridd. The central parts of the towns through which the procession passed literally froze, while crowds of mourners in cars and on foot moved behind the coffin.

The family ordered a carriage with a team of horses and a funeral cortege of limousines. The nomadic community of Gypsies, who knew the deceased as their "queen", went to see her off on her last journey. Pictured is Ruby Pearl Marshall.

About 16 thousand pounds (23.4 thousand US dollars) were spent on flowers alone.

Relatives and friends ordered 60 wreaths, each of which was more than a meter in height, and they were all made in the form of things that the deceased loved — in the form of puppies, Polo candies and chests.

The family also installed sound equipment in the carriage with the coffin to play the deceased's favorite music on the way from Merthyr to Pontypridd.

Ruby Marshall has spent the last 25 years of her life in Merthyr, but has previously lived in Cardiff, Walsall and other parts of England.

The deceased left 52 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. All her children lived next to her. Her daughter Debbie said they wanted to give her a "big fat gypsy funeral."

The number of guests was so great that the University of South Wales opened part of its parking lot on the campus in Pontypridd so that people could park properly near the cemetery.