Rev Ian Brown: Martyrs Memorial cleric opens up on why he did not attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral – despite a personal invitation

Rev Brown, who leads Rev Ian Paisley’s former church The Martyr’s Memorial in east Belfast, said people had been contacting him to ask whether he had been present at the funeral or not.

Rev Brown confirmed he did not attend the funeral, despite his name being listed on the official order of service, and explained to the News Letter why he did not go.

While considering it “a high honour” to have been invited, he told the News Letter that by the time it had been confirmed he was invited it was Sunday afternoon and he had already committed to preaching a sermon at his church that night about the faith of the Queen. The service was due to finish just before 9pm.

He said it would have been a logistical impossibility to attend the Queen’s funeral the next day, as he would have been required to fly to the capital and fight through unprecedented congestion to meet the designated official in London city centre for 7am on Monday in order to receive his credentials and briefing.

Rev Brown said: “Some have noticed my name on the Order of Service as an attendee at the State Funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and have contacted me to ascertain whether or not I was present as they subsequently failed to see me in the audience.  

“The fact is: I was not present. Though I counted it a high honour to receive an invitation ‘in lieu of’ the founding pastor of Martyrs, Dr Ian Paisley, who had served with the Queen on the Privy Council, I did not obtain confirmation of my invitation to the Service until Sunday afternoon – by which stage God’s providence had already taken any decision out of my hands.

“Intriguingly, on that afternoon I was preparing the fourth sermon in a recent series on the death of Her Majesty Elizabeth II to deliver it in the pulpit of Martyrs Memorial FPC (Free Presbyterian Church) in the evening – ‘From Our Queen’s Own Lips’.”

The News Letter understands that the invitation to Rev Brown to attend the funeral came from Westminster Abbey. It is understood that the invitation was made to Rev Brown and not the moderator of the denomination because as minister of the Martyrs Memorial Church in Belfast, Rev Brown was seen as the direct successor to Rev Paisley; the invite was made in recognition of Rev Paisley having served with the Queen on the Privy Council at Westminster, a committee which advised the Queen on matters of government. 

The morning after the funeral, one News Letter reader contacted the paper to note that Rev Brown was listed on the official order of service as an Irish church representative at the Queen’s funeral.

“I’m interested if this marks a change of policy by the Free Presbyterian Church in participating in ‘ecumenical’ services?” he asked.

The News Letter has spoken to a range of Free Presbyterian clerics from across NI today, and it was clear many of them took that view the funeral service was “ecumenical” or in their view, promoting joint worship involving a range of religions. However it was also clear some did not see it in that light; others saw it as a state occasion no different to state-led war remembrance ceremonies, where a variety of faith leaders may take part in order to represent the various faiths of military personnel.

In 2021 the News Letter reported that there was a similar debate within the Free Presbyterian Church about a joint church service in Armagh to mark the centenary of Northern Ireland which the Irish President and Queen were both due to attend; In the end neither did. In a video statement at the time, Free Presbyterian Moderator Rev John Armstrong said his church was “grieved” about the planned service. His theological objection was based on the “betrayal” by the participating Protestant church leaders of the various creeds and confessions that they subscribe to, by holding a joint service with the Catholic Church.

The message Rev Ian Brown preached about the Queen’s faith on the eve of her funeral can be seen here.