On Monday, after a solemn hour-long ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London, Queen Elizabeth II and her late husband Prince Philip will be laid to rest, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday.
The state funeral for Britain’s longest-reigning monarch will start at 11 a.m. local time on Monday and end with a two-minute silence across the country. The service’s flow will honour the Queen’s unique touches.
On the day of the funeral, the Westminster Abbey doors will open at 8 a.m. local time to let the approximately 2,000 attendees—including Indian President Droupadi Murmu and almost 500 other international leaders—to take their seats. All heads of state and officials of other governments, including foreign royal families, would congregate at a central location and proceed to the Abbey under “collective arrangements,” according to the procedures in place for the day.
According to a statement from Buckingham Palace, “nearly 200 people who were recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours earlier this year will also join the congregation, including those who made outstanding contributions to the COVID-19 pandemic response and have volunteered in their local communities.”
The Queen’s coffin will be transported from the Abbey to Windsor Castle for a service at St. George’s Chapel. On Monday evening, the coffin of Prince Philip, who passed away in April, will also be laid to rest at the King George VI Memorial Chapel during a private burial service attended by King Charles III and other senior members of the royal family.
The Earl Marshal, the Duke of Norfolk, who holds the hereditary position with responsibility for the delivery of state occasions like the state funeral, stated that “the events of recent days are a reminder of the strength of our constitution, a system of government which in so many ways is the envy of the world.”
The task at hand is both humbling and intimidating, an honour and a huge responsibility given the esteem, adoration, and affection that the Queen was held in. In order to meet Her Majesty’s and her family’s desires to pay an appropriate respect to an unparalleled reign, he said, “it is our hope and belief that the state funeral and celebrations in the coming days will bring people together around the world and connect with people of all religions.
Thousands of members of the public have been waiting in line for hours to pay their respects as the Queen’s casket is lying in state at Westminster Hall. The four children of the Queen—King Charles III, Princess Royal Anne, Duke of York Andrew, and Earl of Wessex Edward—will stand guard around her casket for 15 minutes on Friday at 7.30 p.m. local time, according to a statement from Buckingham Palace.
On Monday, at 6.30 a.m. local time, the Lying-in-State is scheduled to close to visitors as the state funeral preparations get underway. The body will be escorted in a parade to the Royal Navy’s state gun carriage. Following the coffin as it is carried into the Abbey for the service, which will be officiated by the Dean of Westminster and feature readings from British Prime Minister Liz Truss and Commonwealth Secretary General Baroness Patricia Scotland, will be King Charles and his sons Princes William and Harry.
The King, the Queen Consort, and other royal family members will leave the church after the service carrying the coffin.
Once more, the senior royals will make their way through downtown London in procession from the Abbey to Wellington Arch as Big Ben continues to chimes. The casket will be transferred from Wellington Arch into a state hearse and driven 40 kilometres to Windsor in Berkshire.
Once the coffin arrives in Windsor, it will be carried inside St. George’s Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle for a service that will be attended by some 800 members of the Queen’s Household and estate personnel.
The casket will be lowered into the Royal Vault while the Dean of Windsor reads a psalm following a committal service at 4 o’clock local time. The end of the public portion of the funeral will be signalled by the playing of a lament by the Queen’s piper, a blessing by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the playing of the national song.
The Dean of Windsor will officiate the final funeral service, which will be fully private for the royal family and begin at 7.30 p.m. local time. The Queen’s coffin will be covered in earth that was taken from the royal tomb at Frogmore on the monarch’s Windsor estate.
