Photograph taken by Julian Calder for Governor-General of New Zealand, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
The Royal Family of England has released the funeral arrangements for the late Queen Elizabeth II.
According to Buckingham Palace, the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II will be at Westminster Abbey at 11am on Monday, September 19. 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 body is currently in an oak coffin covered by the Royal Standard for Scotland, with a wreath of flowers on top, in the ballroom of Balmoral Castle, in northeast Scotland.
The Queen’s coffin will be taken on a 180-mile (290-kilometre) trip by road from the remote estate to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh on Sunday.
Queen Elizabeth II, who was also the world’s oldest and longest-serving head of state, came to the throne following the death of her father King George VI on February 6, 1952, when she was just 25. She died at her home in Scotland aged 96, on Thursday, September 8.
Her eldest son, Charles, 73, automatically became king of the United Kingdom and the head of state of 14 other realms including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. His wife Camilla becomes Queen Consort.
Read the full statement below.
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 will travel to Edinburgh tomorrow, Sunday 11th September, 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 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.
