Westminster Abbey opens its doors ahead of Elizabeth II’s state funeral

Sep. 19 () –

Westminster Abbey has opened its doors this Monday at 8:00 a.m. (local time) to allow the entry of participants in the state funeral of Elizabeth II, which will start at 11:00 a.m.

Before the doors open, the Royal Guard has been stationed in the surroundings, with two soldiers placed at the metal door for the start of the proceedings, according to the British newspaper ‘The Guardian’.

It is expected that the coffin with the remains of Elizabeth II will be transferred at 10:30 am (local time) from Westminster Hall to the abbey, in a procession in which Carlos III will be present along with other members of the royal family.

The procession will arrive at the abbey at 10:52 a.m. and the state funeral will start eight minutes later, an act that will be led by the Dean of Westminster, David Hoyle, with a sermon by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Likewise, from 11:58 a.m. there will be two minutes of silence that will precede the end of the state funeral, at which time the national anthem will be played. The coffin will then be transferred to the state carriage in which it arrived at the abbey.

Subsequently, a procession led by the king is scheduled to move to Wellington Arch, from where a vehicle will transport the coffin to Windsor Castle ahead of a mass at 4:00 p.m. in St. George’s Chapel in which some 800 will be present. people.

Finally, at 7:30 p.m. there will be a private mass led by the Dean of Windsor in which only the king and the royal family will participate. Elizabeth II’s coffin will be buried in the chapel alongside that of Prince Philip and his parents, King George VI and the Queen Mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.