Westminster Abbey ceremony to be attended by 2,000 guests and end with two-minute silence
Queen Elizabeth II will be buried next to the Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor in a private ceremony attended by her family on Monday after her state funeral at Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace has said.
The Queen will be laid to rest in the King George VI Memorial Chapel during a service at 7.30pm.
Her state funeral, attended by more than 2,000 official guests including the heads of state of many nations, will end with the last post, a two-minute silence, and a lament played by the Queen’s personal piper.
Before the state funeral, her coffin will be transported to Westminster Abbey on the state gun carriage.
After the service, there will be a long procession from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch, with King Charles leading members of the royal family walking behind the gun carriage.
Her coffin will then be transferred to the state hearse, and travel by road to Windsor. The committal service, attended by 800 people, will be held at St George’s Chapel. Later that evening her family will attend a private interment service.
There were unconfirmed reports that the Duke of Sussex would be permitted to wear uniform at a lying-in-state vigil by the Queen’s grandchildren on Saturday evening.
The Daily Mirror reported that the Queen’s eight grandchildren, including the Prince of Wales and Prince Harry would mount guard for 15 minutes inside Westminster Hall.
The Duke of York, as a non-working royal, has been permitted uniform for the vigil by the Queen’s children on Saturday. But Harry, also as a non-working royal, had previously been expected to wear morning dress throughout the funeral’s ceremonial events.
A royal source told the Mirror: “Common sense has prevailed. It was a ludicrous situation given the Duke of Sussex has served his country and is a highly respected member of the armed forces with everything he has done for veterans.”
Buckingham Palace did not immediately confirm the reports.
During the state funeral – to be conducted by the Dean of Westminster – the prime minster, Liz Truss, and Patricia Scotland, as the secretary general of the Commonwealth, will read lessons, while the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will preach the sermon.
At the end of the service the last post will sound, followed by two minutes’ silence. Reveille, the national anthem and a lament played by the Queen’s piper will bring the service to an end at approximately noon.
The coffin, draped in the Royal Standard, and topped with the instruments of state – the imperial state crown, the orb and sceptre – is currently lying in state at Westminster Hall, with a continuous vigil by the Household Division and sovereign’s body guards.
Her four children will mount their own vigil at 7.30pm on Friday, with the King, Princess Royal, Duke of York and Earl of Wessex standing in silence on the four corners of the catafalque. All will be in uniform, with Andrew, as a non-working royal, permitted to wear uniform for this solemn occasion only.
After the state funeral, the coffin will be taken in procession from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch, where it will be transferred on to the state hearse and travel to Windsor by road.
At Windsor, during the committal services at St George’s chapel, the imperial state crown, the orb and the sceptre will be removed from the coffin by the crown jeweller and, with the bargemaster and serjeants-at-arms, passed to the dean of Windsor, who will place them on the altar. They will later be taken to the Tower of London.
At the end of the final hymn, the King will place the Queen’s company camp colour of the Grenadier Guards on the coffin. The Grenadier Guards are the most senior of the foot guards regiments, and the Queen was their colonel in chief.
At the same time, the lord chamberlain will “break” his wand of office and place it on the coffin. As the coffin is lowered into the royal vault, the dean of Windsor will say a psalm and the commendation before the garter king of arms pronounces the styles and titles of the Queen.
The sovereign’s piper will play a lament from the doorway between the chapel and the dean’s cloister.
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At 7.30pm a private burial service will be conducted by the dean of Windsor, attended by the King and members of the royal family. The Queen is to be buried with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, at the King George VI memorial chapel.
The earl marshal, the Duke of Norfolk, who has responsibility for the funeral, said the task was “humbling and daunting” and that the state funeral would be a “fitting tribute to an extraordinary reign”.
“Of course, these events are taking place against the backdrop of an outpouring of grief, affection and gratitude from people in the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth, and across the world – all united in paying tribute to the Queen’s life of dedicated service,” he said.
“As well as remembering the incredible reign of Elizabeth II, our monarch, and being full of hope for the start of the new reign of King Charles III, let us be proud of how our country has come together in recognition of her remarkable legacy; solemnly, respectfully and with such devotion.
“The events of recent days are a reminder of the strength of our constitution, a system of government which in so many ways is the envy of the world.”
The King and royal family expressed their “sincerest gratitude” for the messages of condolence received from around the world. Buckingham Palace said in a statement: “The royal family has been deeply moved by the global response and affection shown for the Queen as people join them in mourning the loss of Her Majesty.”
10.35am The procession from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey will begin at 10.35am on Monday, when a bearer party will place it on the state gun carriage of the Royal Navy, previously used for the funerals of King Edward VII, King George V, King George VI, Sir Winston Churchill and Lord Mountbatten. As is traditional, it will be drawn by 142 royal naval ratings.
10.44am The procession will set off led by the massed pipes and drums of Scottish and Irish regiments, the Brigade of Gurkhas and the Royal Air Force, a total of 200 musicians. Immediately behind will walk the King’s heralds and pursuivants of arms along with officers and senior members of the Queen’s household. Immediately after the coffin will be the King and members of the royal family.
10.52am The procession will arrive at the West Gate of Westminster Abbey, where the bearer party will lift the coffin from the state gun carriage and carry it into the abbey for the state funeral service.
The congregation will begin taking their seats from 8am. Heads of state and overseas government representatives, including foreign royal families, governors-general and realm prime ministers will gather initially at the Royal hospital, Chelsea, and travel under collective arrangements to Westminster Abbey.
After the state funeral, the coffin will be followed by the Queen’s children, led by the King, as well as the Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex in the procession to Wellington Arch.
The route, through Parliament Square, the Mall and Constitution Hill, will be lined by members of the armed forces. Minute guns will be fired in Hyde Park by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, and Big Ben will toll throughout the procession, which will last one hour.
At Wellington Arch the coffin will be transferred to the state hearse to begin its journey to Windsor.
As the hearse departs, the parade will give a royal salute and the national anthem will be played. The King and the Queen Consort, the Prince and Princess of Wales and members of the royal family will leave for Windsor by car.
