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Two thousand guests, including more than a hundred presidents, heads of state and monarchs, will attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral on Monday at Westminster Abbey, London, before her evening burial at Windsor Castle.
It is one of the biggest logistical challenges in UK history.
Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral will take place on Monday 19 September at Westminster Abbey, London.
Joe Biden, the Emperor of Japan and President Emmanuel Macron are on the list of 2,000 guests selected to attend this historic event. More than 10,000 police from across the country have been mobilized in the capital as authorities expect record crowds along the funeral procession route.
In the afternoon, the coffin of Elizabeth II will be transferred to Windsor Castle for a religious service before the burial of the Queen, during a private ceremony. France 24 details the program for this extraordinary day.
A day of protocols and traditions
This Monday morning, the royal coffin exposed in the Palace of Westminster in London, will be transferred to Westminster Abbey, where the state funeral will take place.
The procession will begin at 10:35 local time; the coffin will be placed in an artillery chest pulled by 142 naval officers, fulfilling a tradition dating back to Queen Victoria’s funeral in 1901. It is the same chest in which the coffin of George VI, the queen’s father, was carried.
The procession, followed by the King and members of the Royal Family, will be led by an ensemble of 200 pipers and drummers from the Royal Air Force and the Gurka Regiment to the West Gate of Westminster Abbey at 10:52am.
the state funeral
The state funeral, led by the Dean of Westminster, David Hoyle, will begin at 11am, although the Abbey gates will open three hours earlier to accommodate those invited to the event.
While the final list is being kept secret, in particular for security reasons, several heads of state, political representatives and monarchs have already indicated that they will attend the event, including the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern and Droupadi Murmu, President of India.
Members of the Belgian, Dutch, Qatari and even Saudi royal families will also be present, as well as several hundred anonymous people, decorated by the queen, including social workers and carers.
After the sermon delivered by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, the Sound of the Dead (Last Post) will be played, followed by two minutes of silence which will be observed at the Abbey and across the UK.
The national anthem and a lament (popular song recounting the misfortunes of a character) performed by the Queen’s piper will bring the State funeral to an end around noon.
Heads of state and representatives of foreign governments will attend a reception hosted by British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly at Church House, the seat of the Church of England, located next to the Abbey.
The queen’s coffin will parade through the capital to Hyde Park Corner, to the sound of the bells of Big Ben, where it will be loaded into a hearse that will take the road to Windsor, a city in the southeast of England, located about fifty kilometers from London .
Religious ceremony and burial in Windsor
Starting at 3:00 p.m. local time, a new procession preceded by members of the royal cavalry will follow the Paseo Largo to the castle. Next, the Royal Family will join the procession, up to the Chapel of Saint George.
Some 800 guests, including the Queen’s personal employees, will attend the service, led by the Dean of Windsor, David Conner.
Finally, at 7:30 p.m., a private funeral will take place in the presence of the king and members of the royal family before the burial.
Queen Elizabeth II will be buried next to her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, in the King George VI Memorial Chapel.
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