scorecard
  1. Home
  2. international
  3. news
  4. Everything that will happen at the late Queen Elizabeth II's funeral

Everything that will happen at the late Queen Elizabeth II's funeral

Samantha Grindell   

Everything that will happen at the late Queen Elizabeth II's funeral
International3 min read
  • Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle on Thursday.
  • Her funeral will be on Monday, and it will be a bank holiday in the UK.

Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday, September 8.

The 96-year-old was the longest-reigning British monarch. Her eldest son, Charles, is now king.

Buckingham Palace has spent decades preparing for the Queen's death, ensuring the transition to a new monarch goes as smoothly as possible.

Part of these preparations included planning the Queen's funeral, which will be held on Monday, September 19. The Duke of Norfolk did much of the planning, as reported by The Times of London. He will also be in charge of planning King Charles III's coronation.

In the days since her death at Balmoral, Queen Elizabeth's casket has been transferred from Balmoral to Edinburgh to London, which included a six-hour car ride for Princess Anne.

The Queen's body will lie in state at Westminster Hall beginning on Wednesday until 6:30 a.m. BST on Monday, September 19, so the public can pay their respects to the late monarch.

Members of the royal family processed behind the Queen's coffin as it was moved from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall on Tuesday. The coffin will be accessible for 24 hours per day while it lies in state.

Officials anticipate that one million people will come to pay their respects to the Queen at Westminster Hall, and they're warning well-wishers that they may have to wait in queues for over 30 hours before they can see her majesty.

The funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey at 11 a.m. BST, where the Queen married the late Prince Philip in 1947. Prince Philip's funeral was at Windsor Castle.

The funeral will be a bank holiday in the United Kingdom, and the stock market will close for the second time in less than two weeks for the occasion.

At 10:44 a.m. BST, a gun carriage will transfer the Queen's coffin to Westminster Abbey as the royal family processes behind.

On the morning of the funeral, the bell on Big Ben will ring once at 9 a.m. in the Queen's honor. Its hammer will then be covered with leather pads so it will be silent for the rest of the day.

The Dean of Westminster will preside over the funeral, and both the Prime Minister and Secretary General of the Commonwealth will give readings during the service, according to Buckingham Palace.

The palace also announced that at 11:55 a.m. BST, the attendees and the United Kingdom will observe Two Minute's Silence in her majesty's honor.

Queen Elizabeth's casket will then process to Windsor through London. According to a press release from Buckingham Palace, there will be a Committal Service at St George's Chapel at Windsor at 4 p.m. BST, which the Dean of Windsor will preside over. The royal family and past and present members of the Queen's households will attend the Commital Service.

The Queen will be lowered into the royal vault while her personal piper plays God Save The King, which was a request made by her Majesty before her death, according to the BBC.

The Queen will then be privately laid to rest by the Dean of Windsor alongside Prince Philip at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, which is inside of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, according to the BBC. Prince Philip's body is currently interred at the Royal Vault at the Chapel, and he will be moved to rest alongside the Queen.

It's expected that 2,000 people will attend the funeral, including leaders from all over the world and the royal family.

President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are attending, as are the Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand prime ministers, according to the BBC.

The funeral will be televised, and billions of people are expected to tune into the ceremony.

Viewers in the US can watch the live coverage on NBC News, NBC News Now, CNN, ABC, and Fox News, according to the US Sun. Those in the UK can tune into BBC One, BBC News, and Sky News, or watch a livestream on BBC iPlayer, according to The Telegraph.


Advertisement

Advertisement