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Over 500 heads of state and dignitaries from all over the world are attending today in London a state funeral for Queen Elizabeth II, who died at the age of 96 after more than seven decades as sovereign of the United Kingdom.
It is the largest event with foreign leaders that the British Foreign Office has coordinated in modern times, for which a security device comparable to that of the London Olympics in 2012 has been deployed.
It is the first state funeral to be held in the 21st century in the United Kingdom, which has not experienced similar ceremonies since the death of George VI in 1952 and that of Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1965.
This is how the day is scheduled to unfold:
– 6.30 local time (5.30 GMT) The chapel of Elizabeth II at the Palace of Westminster, installed since Wednesday, will close. Thousands of people have been to the place to pay their last farewell to the sovereign.
– 8.00 (7.00 GMT) – The doors of Westminster Abbeyw will open for the arrival of those attending the funeral service, which will begin three hours later. President Joe Biden, as well as heads of monarchies around the world, including the kings of Spain, Felipe VI and Letizia, will be present at the ceremony.
– 10.35 (9.35 GMT) – The Queen’s coffin will be placed on an artillery gun carriage and will leave Westminster Hall from 10.44 (9.44 GMT). Members of the Royal Navy will carry the ceremonial gun carriage in procession from the Houses of Parliament to the nearby Westminster Abbey. King Charles III and his three siblings—Anne, Andrew, and Edward—as well as his sons, Princes William and Henry, will walk behind the mortal remains of the sovereign.
– 11.00 (10.00 GMT). With 2,000 guests, the religious ceremony begins in the abbey, the same place where Elizabeth II was crowned queen in 1953. The last state funeral for a British monarch held in the London temple was in 1760, after the death of George II. Since then, the funeral ceremonies had been held in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
The Dean of Westminster, David Hoyle, will officiate at the funeral, while the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will give a sermon and the British Prime Minister, Liz Truss, will read a religious text.
– 11.55 (10.55 GMT). A bugle call will mark the beginning of two minutes of silence to be observed throughout the United Kingdom. Heathrow Airport will have halted take-offs and landings minutes earlier to ensure rigorous silence in the British capital.
The national anthem and a piece of lament performed by the official piper of Elizabeth II will end the funeral service at noon.
– 12.15 (11.15 GMT). The coffin will depart in a funeral procession from the abbey to Wellington Arch, at the southeast corner of Hyde Park. The Big Ben, the famous bell in the tower of the Palace of Westminster, will toll at one-minute intervals during the procession.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police will lead the march, which will also include members of the armed forces of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries, representatives of the British police, and the public health service (NHS).
Charles III will walk along with other members of the royal family, while Queen consort Camilla, Princess of Wales Catherine, and Duchess of Sussex Meghan will follow the procession by car.
– 13.00 (12.00 GMT). At Wellington Arch, the remains of the sovereign will be transferred to a hearse to make their final journey to Windsor Castle, about 35 kilometers west of London.
– 15.00 (14.00 GMT). The coffin arrives in the vicinity of the castle, where 40 monarchs have lived uninterruptedly for nearly a thousand years. A procession on foot will walk the 5 kilometers of the Long Walk, the characteristic tree-lined avenue that leads to the royal residence.
– 16.00 (15.00 GMT). The remains of Elizabeth II enter the castle’s St. George’s Chapel, a regular venue for royal christenings, weddings, and funerals. In recent years, it hosted the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan, as well as the funeral of Prince Philip, the Queen’s husband.
Some 800 guests will attend a ceremony officiated by the Dean of Windsor, David Coney. The Crown of the Imperial State, the royal orb, and a scepter will be removed from the coffin, separating Elizabeth II from the symbols of her reign for the last time.
The coffin will descend into the chapel’s royal crypt, where the remains of her husband, who died in 2021 aged 99, are also buried. The official bagpiper of Windsor will play a hymn personally chosen by Elizabeth II and the ceremony will conclude with the singing of “God Save the King”, around 16.45 (15.45 GMT).
– 16.00 (15.00 GMT). The remains of Elizabeth II enter the castle’s St. George’s Chapel, a regular venue for christenings, weddings and royal funerals. In recent years, it hosted the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan, as well as the funeral of Prince Philip, the Queen’s husband.
Some 800 guests will attend a ceremony officiated by the Dean of Windsor, David Coney. The Crown of the Imperial State, the royal orb and scepter will be removed from the coffin, separating Elizabeth II from the symbols of her reign for the last time.
The coffin will descend into the chapel’s royal crypt, where the remains of her husband, who died in 2021 aged 99, are also buried. The official bagpiper of Windsor will play a hymn personally chosen by Elizabeth II and the ceremony will conclude with the singing of God Save the King, around 16.45 (15.45 GMT).
– 19.30 (18.30 GMT). Elizabeth II will be buried next to Prince Philip in a private ceremony attended by members of the royal family. The marble slab of her grave will be engraved with the words “Elizabeth II, 1926-2022.″
