The State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II will take place at Westminster Abbey in London on 19 September at 11am local time, Buckingham Palace announced on Saturday. Prior to the State Funeral, the late British monarch will lie-in-state at Westminster Hall nearby for four days to allow the public to pay their respects.
On the morning of Monday 19 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, it said. Following the State Funeral, the coffin will travel in procession from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch in London for its onward journey to Windsor.
Read More: Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-serving monarch, dies aged 96
In the coming days, the Queen’s coffin, which currently rests in the Ballroom at Balmoral Castle in Scotland where she died peacefully on Thursday, will travel to Edinburgh on Sunday by road, to arrive at the Palace of Holyroodhouse to rest in the Throne Room until Monday afternoon.
A procession will be formed on the forecourt of the Palace of Holyroodhouse to convey the coffin to St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh. King Charles III and members of the royal family will take part in the procession and attend a service in the cathedral to receive the coffin. The Scottish government has confirmed designated viewing stops along the procession route.
Her Majesty’s coffin will then lie at rest in St. Giles’ Cathedral to allow the people of Scotland to pay their respects, Buckingham Palace said.
On Tuesday, the coffin will travel from Scotland by Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft from Edinburgh Airport, arriving at RAF Northolt in England later that evening. It will be accompanied on the journey by the Queen’s daughter, Anne 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 14 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 until the morning of the State Funeral, the palace said.
After the coffin arrives at Westminster Hall, the Archbishop of Canterbury will conduct a 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 for the public to pay their respects.
Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s longest-serving monarch, died on Thursday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland after reigning for 70 years. She was 96.
