Remembering Nelson
Nelson's funeral was the grandest state occasion of the era. It was a carefully arranged ceremonial that lasted over five days. Huge crowds lined the procession routes to catch a last glimpse of their hero. The solemn service at St Paul's was charged with emotion, marking the passing of the man who had delivered his country from a foreign threat.
Monuments to Nelson were erected all over Britain and overseas, but there was no outdoor public memorial to him in London until 1843. Nelson's Column, paid for by public subscription, was only completed in Trafalgar Square that November.
Nelson's achievement at Trafalgar cannot be underestimated. It meant that Napoleon could no longer reach beyond continental Europe, either by war or for trade. The Battle of Trafalgar helped lay the foundations for Napoleon's defeat and confirmed British naval dominance for decades to come.