The funeral service for Queen Elizabeth II at London’s Westminster Abbey on September 19 will be the culmination of decades of careful planning.
Here’s what we know so far about how the day will play out.
– Back to the Abbey –
The last time Westminster Abbey was used for a monarch’s funeral was in 1760 for George II.
Since then, St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle has been the preferred church, but Elizabeth opted for a larger venue.
On the morning of the funeral, the viewing, which began on Wednesday at Westminster Hall in Parliament, will continue until 06:30 (0530 GMT).
The funeral will be conducted by the Dean of Westminster, David Hoyle, while the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will preach the homily.
– carriage –
At around 10.30am a carrier party will take the coffin from the catafalque, a raised platform in Westminster Hall, to a gun carriage which will be waiting outside Westminster Hall’s north entrance.
The carriage is not pulled by horses, but by younger sailors – marines – with ropes.
Members of the Royal Family walk behind the coffin to the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey, where it will be carried up the west staircase and through the nave to a platform in the chancel.
– Big security operation –
Westminster Abbey can accommodate up to 2,200 people. Those in attendance include family members, British Prime Minister Liz Truss, senior politicians, former Prime Ministers, more than 100 kings, queens and heads of state, and other VIPs.
US President Joe Biden has confirmed his participation, triggering a major security operation.
Biden is reportedly allowed to travel to the funeral in his armored presidential limousine known as The Beast.
Other leaders, such as French President Emmanuel Macron and Israeli President Isaac Herzog, are also said to have their own transport.
Others, however, are transported to the abbey on a shared bus.
Invitations are expected to be sent out to representatives of all countries with which the UK has diplomatic relations.
“Russia and Belarus have not been invited to next Monday’s state funeral of Queen Elizabeth, which will be attended by more than 100 kings, queens, heads of state and other VIPs,” a government source said.
The source linked this to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Military-led Myanmar and isolated North Korea were also not invited, the source said on condition of anonymity.
There will be no representatives from Syria, Venezuela or Taliban-led Afghanistan.
– trip to Windsor –
After the burial, the coffin is hauled on the gun wagon from the Abbey to Wellington Arch on London’s Hyde Park Corner, from where it is taken to Windsor by hearse.
On arrival in Windsor, the hearse makes its way down the Long Walk, a historic avenue, to St George’s Chapel for a televised handover ceremony.
The King and senior members of the royal family are expected to join the procession for the final leg of the journey from the Quadrangle at Windsor Castle.
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan were married at St. George’s in May 2018. The funeral of the Queen’s 73-year-old husband, Prince Philip, was held there in April 2021.
It is also regularly chosen for royal baptisms.
– final resting place –
Only close family members attend a later private funeral service.
The Queen’s final resting place will be the King George VI Memorial Chapel, which is an annex to the main chapel.
The Queen’s mother and father – King George VI and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother – were buried there, as were the ashes of their younger sister Princess Margaret.
Prince Philip’s coffin is moved from the royal tomb to the memorial chapel.
