By Sam BIODUN Ogundipe in London
The State Funeral of Her Majesty The Queen will take place at Westminster Abbey on Monday 19th September at 1100hrs BST.
Prior to the State Funeral, The Queen will Lie-in-State in Westminster Hall for four days, to allow the public to pay their respects.
The Queen’s Coffin currently rests in the Ballroom at Balmoral Castle. Her Majesty’s Coffin has travelled to Edinburgh on Sunday by road, to arrive at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where it will rest in the Throne Room until the afternoon of Monday 12th September.
On the afternoon of Monday 12th September, a Procession will be formed on the forecourt of the Palace of Holyroodhouse to convey the Coffin to St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh. The King and Members of the Royal Family will take part in the Procession and attend a Service in St Giles’ Cathedral to receive the Coffin.
Her Majesty’s Coffin will then lie at rest in St Giles’ Cathedral, guarded by Vigils from The Royal Company of Archers, to allow the people of Scotland to pay their respects.
On the afternoon of Tuesday 13th September, The Queen’s Coffin will travel from Scotland by Royal Air Force aircraft from Edinburgh Airport, arriving at RAF Northolt later that evening. The Coffin will be accompanied on the journey by The Princess Royal.
The Queen’s Coffin will then be conveyed to Buckingham Palace by road, to rest in the Bow Room. On the afternoon of Wednesday 14th September, the Coffin will be borne in Procession on a Gun Carriage of The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster, where The Queen will Lie-in-State in Westminster Hall for four days until the morning of the State Funeral.
The Procession will travel via Queen’s Gardens, The Mall, Horse Guards and Horse Guards Arch, Whitehall, Parliament Street, Parliament Square and New Palace Yard. After the Coffin arrives at Westminster Hall, The Archbishop of Canterbury will conduct a short service assisted by The Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, Dean of Westminster, and attended by The King and Members of the Royal Family, after which the Lying-in-State will begin.
During the Lying-in-State, members of the public will have the opportunity to visit Westminster Hall to pay their respects to The Queen. On the morning of Monday 19th September, the Lying-in-State will end and the Coffin will be taken in Procession from the Palace of Westminster to Westminster Abbey, where the State Funeral Service will take place.
Following the State Funeral, the Coffin will travel in Procession from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch. From Wellington Arch, the Coffin will travel to Windsor and once there, the State Hearse will travel in Procession to St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle via the Long Walk. A Committal Service will then take place in St George’s Chapel.
US president Joe Biden has announced that he will attend, and offered kind words about the former monarch: “Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was more than a monarch. She defined an era. In a world of constant change, she was a steadying presence and a source of comfort and pride for generations of Britons, including many who have never known their country without her.”
Along with the UK’s new prime minister Liz Truss and the Labour party leader Keir Starmer, New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern, Japan’s Emperor Naruhito, European Commission
President Ursula von der Leyen, and Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are also expected to attend the Queen’s funeral.
In addition to the British royal family—including Harry and Meghan—members of the royal families of Spain, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands will also make an appearance.
French president Emmanuel Macron already made an impromptu visit to the British embassy in Paris on Friday to pay his respects. He also wrote a tribute to the Queen: “She held a special status in France and a special place in the hearts of the French people. No foreign sovereign has climbed the stairs of the Élysée Palace more often than she, who honoured France with six state visits and met each of its presidents…The Queen of 16 kingdoms loved France, which loved her back.” He is also expected to attend the Queen s funeral.
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