LONDON (Reuters) – World leaders will join Britain’s royal family, its political elite and members of the military, judiciary and charitable organisations at the state funeral for Queen Elizabeth on Monday.
Below are details of what is expected on the day:
WESTMINSTER
– The queen’s lying in state at Westminster Hall will end at 6:30 a.m. (0530 GMT) on Monday.
– Shortly after 10:35 a.m. a bearer party will lift the coffin from the catafalque and carry it to the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy.
– The State Gun Carriage is a field gun carriage that has previously been used for the funerals of Queen Victoria, King Edward VII, King George V, King George VI, Winston Churchill, and Lord Louis Mountbatten.
– The gun carriage will be drawn by 142 members of the Royal Navy, setting off at 10:44 a.m..
– The route will be lined by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The procession will pass by Parliament Square where members of the navy, army and air force will form a Guard of Honour, accompanied by a band of the Royal Marines.
– The procession will be led by Scottish and Irish regiments, the Brigade of Gurkhas and the Royal Air Force numbering 200 musicians. The gun carriage will be flanked by detachments of The King’s Body Guards of The Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms, The Yeomen of the Guard and the Royal Company of Archers.
– The coffin will be followed by King Charles and members of the royal family.
– The procession will arrive at the West Gate of Westminster Abbey at 10:52 a.m.
– Heads of state and overseas government representatives, including foreign royal families, governors-general and prime ministers of the realm will gather at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea and travel together to the Abbey.
– The congregation will be made up of representatives of the realms, the Commonwealth, parliament, devolved parliaments, charities and institutions, plus the law and emergency services.
– The state funeral will begin at 11:00 a.m. (1000 GMT), conducted by the Dean of Westminster. Prime Minister Liz Truss and the Secretary General of the Commonwealth will read lessons.
– The sermon will be given by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who will also give the commendation. The Dean will pronounce the blessing.
– The last post will sound towards the end of the service at approximately 11:55 a.m. followed by a two-minute silence in the Abbey and throughout the United Kingdom. Planes will avoid flying over central London.
– Reveille, the national anthem and a lament played by the Queen’s Piper will bring the state funeral service to an end at approximately 12:00 p.m.
PROCESSION TO WELLINGTON ARCH
– The bearer party will return the coffin to the State Gun Carriage, followed by the royal family.
– At 12:15 p.m. a procession including the king and some members of the royal family will set off for Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner. Camilla, Queen Consort, and the wives of William, Harry and Prince Edward – Kate, Meghan and Sophie – will follow by car.
– The route will be lined by the armed forces. The procession will include representatives from the Commonwealth, Canadian police, health workers and others. The procession is formed into seven groups, each supported by a service band.
– Minute guns will be fired in Hyde Park. Big Ben will toll throughout the procession. The King’s Guard in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace will give a royal salute as the coffin passes Queen Victoria Memorial.
– The procession will arrive at 1:00 p.m. at Wellington Arch, where the coffin will be placed in the hearse to travel to Windsor. As it departs, the parade will give a royal salute and the national anthem will be played.
– The royal family will travel to Windsor by car.
WINDSOR BURIAL
– At 3:10 p.m. a procession in Windsor will begin. It will be joined by the king and other members of the royal family at 3:40 p.m.
– The route will be lined by the armed forces, minute guns will be fired. Both the Sebastopol Bell and the Curfew Tower Bell will be tolled.
– The procession will halt at the bottom of the West Steps of St. George’s Chapel at 3:53 p.m.
– The committal service will begin at 4:00 p.m., conducted by the Dean of Windsor. Prayers will be led by the clergymen at churches near to her different homes. The congregation will include the queen’s personal staff plus governors-general and prime ministers from countries where the British monarch remains head of state.
– Prior to the final hymn, the Imperial State Crown, the Orb and the Sceptre will be removed from the coffin and placed on the Altar.
– The king will place The Queen’s Company Camp Colour of the Grenadier Guards on the coffin. The Lord Chamberlain will “break” his Wand of Office and place it on the coffin.
– As the coffin is lowered into the Royal Vault, the Dean of Windsor will say a Psalm and the commendation before Garter King of Arms will pronounce the styles and titles of the queen.
– The Sovereign’s Piper will play a lament. As he walks away, the music inside the chapel will gradually fade.
– The Archbishop of Canterbury will pronounce the blessing, followed by the singing of “God Save The King”.
– At 7:30 p.m. a private burial service will be attended by the family. The queen will be buried with her husband, Prince Philip, at the King George VI Memorial Chapel.
(Reporting by Michael Holden and Kate Holton; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Alex Richardson)
