Coronations and weddings, but also funerals of rulers and their family members aroused interest both nationally and locally at court. Sumptuous celebrations - even observed from a distance - made it possible, at least symbolically, to participate in these important events.

The desire to bid a dignified farewell to the dead has accompanied people for hundreds of years. In the case of royal families, the setting of the ceremony was also important , i.e. props that emphasised the splendour of the family or the deceased himself. Finally, textiles were important, especially flags, which were created for the occasion and decorated with coats of arms or gold and silver threads. Examples of funeral banners of two Polish queens; they are kept in Swedish collections, i.e. three banners of Konstancja Habsbużanka (d. 10 July 1631), wife of Sigismund III Vasa, and one of Cecilia Renata Habsburg (d. 24 March 1644) , wife of Władysław IV.

Constance Habsburg was the second wife of Sigismund III Vasa and the younger sister of Anne, his first wife. She died on 10 July 1631 in Warsaw's Ujazdowski Castle , aged almost 43. Dying in a private residence near the city meant that the Queen had to be transported to the Castle, but in this case the procession was not given a ceremonial character, as the plague was spreading ; the corpse was transported at night, in a carriage accompanied by several other carriages. The king soon fell ill and died on 30 April 1632; a funeral ceremony was therefore organised for the royal couple.

Three funeral banners of Constance of Habsburg ( 31077_LRK, 21237_LRK and 21238_LRK) are preserved in the collection of the Royal Armoury (Livrustkammaren ) in Stockholm and were prepared for her funeral. What they have in common is that they feature a white silk cartouche on a black rectangular background and within it a heart cartouche with gold thread and silk embroidered details. The state of preservation of the object with inventory number 31077_LRK is the weakest, but the coat of arms surmounted by the royal crown is still visible. All fields of the coat of arms are red (31077_LRK and 21237_LRK) - the first and fourth depict an eagle (Crown) and the second and third depict a horseman with a raised sword (Lithuania). The state of preservation of object no. 21238_LRK is the best. In this case, too, a crest cartouche with a crown is placed on a black background; the first and fourth fields depict a crown, while the second and third fields depict a crowned lion with an open mouth - the shield of the coat of arms reflects the coat of arms of Austria.

In the second case, Albrycht Stanisław Radziwiłł noted in his memoirs that from 19 March 1644, Cecilia Renata, who was staying in Vilnius, began to decline in strength; the queen was pregnant and her due date was approaching. Four days later, the queen gave birth to a dead child, and she herself died the following day (24 March). The body was taken to Warsaw and was displayed in the Chamber of Deputies of the Royal Castle. 'There marched forward [to Warsaw] 1,200 infantry, flintlocks lowered to the ground, then the clergy, the Bishop of Wenden in front of the marches, then music, then three senators, carrying one by one the insignia of the kingdom: I [A.S. Radziwiłł] carried the apple of the kor[onny] chancellor the sceptre, w[ojewo]da bełski the crown. Then w[ojewo]da sieradzki major domus carried a marshal's staff turned to the ground. Six horses covered with black cloth pulled the cart; the cart was covered with black velvet with a gold-headed column. The king was carried on a chair, surrounded by senators. Courtly 24ch torches glowing carried about the coffin; at the end walked the senatorial ladies and the franncymer. Finally they came to the castle, the coffin being deposited in the chamber of the deputies, which was all covered with black cloth. There, having said litanies and other prayers, the king, with weeping eyes, returned to the palace" . The interior of the Chamber of Deputies was adjusted by covering the windows and setting up candlesticks and covering the walls with special dark fabrics. The Queen's insignia and crucifix were displayed around her.

The funeral did not take place until 20 June, after the Queen had been transported to Krakow, on Wawel Hill. "The carriage on which the coffin with the queen's body was carried was covered with black velvet", as Radziwiłł again notes. It seems that the flag of Cecilia Renata Habsbużanka was also used during the queen's funeral.

It is in the form of a rectangular patch of red damask measuring 62 x 52 cm. It is kept in the collection of the Armémuseum and is part of the flag collection ('Statens Trofésamling'). On one side of the flag - on a red background - a laurel wreath with four golden rosettes is depicted, with the Habsburg coat of arms inside. Around it are the numerals 1 | 6 | 4 | 4, which form the year of the queen's death, as well as the creation of the object. On the other side of the ensign is placed the Maltese cross and the inscription in Latin IESUS | MARIA | SIS MECUM | IN VIA. The 259 cm long period spar has been preserved.

Object metrics
Banner of Constance of Habsburg: dimensions 56 x 44 cm, inv. no. 31077_LRK, Livrustkammaren collections

Banner of Constance of Habsburg: dimensions 56 x 44.5 cm, inv. no. 21238_LRK, Livrustkammaren collections

Banner of Constance of Habsburg: dimensions 56 x 44.5 cm, inv. no. 21237_LRK, Livrustkammaren collections

Banner of Cecilia Renata: dimensions 62 x 52 cm, inv. no. AM.084109, Collection Armémuseum, Stockholm