The funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II will begin at Westminster Abbey on Monday at 11:00 BST. The Leaders Council has, to the best of its understanding, documented the programme for the day below.
At 06:30 BST on the day of the funeral, the Queen’s lying-in state that has been ongoing for several days will finally close to members of the public.
The doors to Westminster Abbey - where the state funeral service will take place - will open from 08:00. The ceremonial part of the funeral will begin at approximately 10:44 BST as the Queen’s coffin begins is journey from the lying-in state venue of Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey.
The casket will be carried on the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy, while senior royals will follow behind in procession. The State Gun Carriage will be headed by pipers and drummers from the Scottish and Irish regiments, as well as members of the Gurkhas and the Royal Air Force.
Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel will line the route from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey. As the procession passes through Parliament Square, it will be greeted by a guard of honour comprised of all three military bodies and a Royal Marines band.
Some 2,000 guests – mostly heads of state and diplomats from around the world - will attend Westminster Abbey to pay their respects. Senior politicians from the UK and former prime ministers will also be in attendance, as will royals from other European nations. To many of the royal guests, the late Queen was a blood relative. European royals such as King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium, and Spain's King Felipe and Queen Letizia are among those making the journey.
The service is to be conducted by the Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will deliver the sermon, before a lesson is read by prime minister of the United Kingdom, Liz Truss.
At approximately 11:55 BST, a rendition of the Last Post will be played near the end of the funeral. A two-minute silence across the country will then be held.
At around 12:00 BST, the service will conclude with the national anthem and a lament performed by the Queen’s piper.
Once the funeral service has ended, at 12:15 BST the Queen’s coffin will be transported in a walking procession from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch, led by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and comprised of members of the armed forces in the UK and the Commonwealth states, as well as members of the police and the NHS.
Forming part of the procession will be the Queen Consort Camilla, the Princess of Wales, the Countess of Wessex and the Duchess of Sussex, who will travel by car.
As the coffin is drawn along this route, the bell of Big Ben in the Elizabeth Tower of the Palace of Westminster will toll once per minute. Gun salutes will also fire each minute from Hyde Park.
The procession is scheduled to reach Wellington Arch at 13:00 BST approximately, at which point the coffin will be moved into the State Hearse to be transported to Windsor Castle, a place of personal significance to the late Queen.
The hearse is expected to reach Windsor around two hours later at 15:00 BST approximately, where the coffin will be unloaded for its final journey. A walking procession will begin at 15:10 BST up Windsor’s Long Walk, with the route again lined with armed forces personnel.
King Charles III and other senior royals are expected to be present in the Windsor Castle Quadrangle to join the procession at roughly 15:40 BST. The coffin will then be taken into St George’s Chapel for a committal service at 16:00 BST.
The Sebastopol and Curfew Tower bells of Windsor Castle will sound every minute and be greeted by gun salutes from the grounds of the castle. The committal service will be attended by a congregation of around 800 and will be carried out by David Conner, the Dean of Windsor. The Archbishop of Canterbury will once more be present to deliver a blessing.
As the service draws to a close, the Imperial State Crown and the royal orb and sceptre will be removed from atop the coffin, and the coffin will then be lowered into the royal vault. The Queen’s piper will perform once more as per the Queen’s personal request before a blessing is delivered and the national anthem is sung.
The Queen will be buried at the King George VI memorial chapel inside St George’s Chapel at 19:25 BST on the day of the funeral in a private family service. Her marble slab will be engraved with the following: ‘ELIZABETH II 1926-2022’.
The Queen’s husband, the late Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, will be buried alongside her.
The main events of the day in full can be found below:
- 06:30 BST: The Queen’s lying-in state ends
- 08:00 BST: Doors open at Westminster Abbey ahead of the state funeral service
- 10:44 BST: The Queen’s coffin is removed Westminster Hall
- 10:52 BST: The Queen’s coffin arrives at Westminster Abbey
- 11:00 BST: The state funeral service gets underway
- 11:55 BST: A national two-minute silence is held, followed by the national anthem and a lament
- 12:00 BST: State funeral service concludes
- 12:15 BST: The procession leaves Westminster Abbey for the journey to Wellington Arch
- 13:00 BST: The Queen’s coffin is moved into the State Hearse upon arrival at Wellington Arch
- 15:06 BST: State Hearse expected to arrive at Windsor Castle
- 15:10 BST: Final procession to traverse the Long Walk at Windsor
- 16:00 BST: Committal service held at St George's Chapel with roughly 800 guests
- 19:30 BST: The Queen is buried at a private service inside the King George VI memorial chapel
Photo by Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on Wikimedia Commons
