26.7 C
Accra
Friday, November 22, 2024
WorldDetailed guide to the Queen's funeral

Date:

Detailed guide to the Queen’s funeral

The late Queen Elizabeth II‘s body will begin its final journey as part of a grand state funeral later after spending days lying in state. It will first travel to Westminster Abbey for a religious service in front of thousands of people, then move on to Windsor Castle for a more personal committal service, and finally, a private burial.

It will be a day filled with emotion, grandeur, and ceremony unseen since Winston Churchill’s last state burial over 60 years ago.

According to Buckingham Palace, the Queen added her own modifications to the plans.

Here is a breakdown of the day’s events.

Banner showing time 08:00

The Queen’s lying-in-state at Westminster Hall in the heart of London, where people queued for hours to view her coffin, has now come to an end. A short distance away, at Westminster Abbey, the doors have opened for guests to start arriving ahead of the funeral service at 11:00.

Heads of state from across the world have been flying in to join members of the Royal Family to remember the Queen’s life and service. Senior UK politicians and former prime ministers will also be there.

Members of royal families from across Europe, many of whom were blood relatives of the Queen, are expected – Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde and Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia will be there.

Banner showing time 10:44

At this point, the ceremonial part of the day will begin in earnest, as the Queen’s coffin is lifted from the catafalque where it has been resting since Wednesday afternoon, and taken to Westminster Abbey, for her funeral service.

Map showing route the Queen's coffin will take from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey

She will be carried on the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy, drawn by 142 sailors. The carriage was last seen in 1979 for the funeral of Prince Philip’s uncle, Lord Mountbatten and was used for the Queen’s father, George VI, in 1952.

Infographic showing the State Gun Carriage pulled by 142 sailors from the Royal Navy

Senior members of the Royal Family, including the new king and his sons Prince William and Prince Harry, will follow the gun carriage in procession.

The Pipes and Drums of the Scottish and Irish regiments will lead the ceremony, along with members of the Royal Air Force and the Gurkhas.

The route will be lined by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines and a guard of honour will stand in Parliament Square made up of all three military services, accompanied by a Royal Marines band.

Banner showing time 11:00

The Queen’s funeral service, expected to be attended by 2,000 guests, will begin at Westminster Abbey.

It will be a state funeral – an event typically reserved for kings or queens, which follows strict rules of protocol, such as a military procession and the lying-in-state.

The abbey, hosting the funeral service, is the historic church where Britain’s kings and queens are crowned, including the Queen’s own coronation in 1953. It was also where the then-Princess Elizabeth married Prince Philip in 1947.

Inside Westminster Abbey

There hasn’t been a monarch’s funeral service in the abbey since the 18th Century, although the funeral of the Queen Mother was held there in 2002.

The service will be conducted by the Dean of Westminster David Hoyle, with the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby giving the sermon. Prime Minister Liz Truss will read a lesson.

Banner showing time 11:55

Towards the end of the funeral service the Last Post – a short bugle call – will be played followed by a two-minute national silence.

The national anthem and a lament played by the Queen’s piper will bring the service to an end at about midday.

Banner showing time 12:15

Following the service, the Queen’s coffin will be drawn in a walking procession from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch, at London’s Hyde Park Corner.

With the route lined with military personnel and police, Big Ben will toll at one-minute intervals as the procession moves slowly through the streets of the capital. Gun salutes will also fire every minute from Hyde Park.

People can watch the procession in person from designated viewing areas along the route.

Route of the funeral procession from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch

The procession, led by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, will be made up of seven groups, each with its own band. Members of the armed services from the UK and the Commonwealth, the police and the NHS will also be involved.

Once again the King will lead members of the Royal Family walking behind the gun carriage bearing the Queen’s coffin.

Camilla, the Queen Consort, the Princess of Wales, the Countess of Wessex and the Duchess of Sussex will join the procession in cars.

Once at Wellington Arch, at about 13:00, the coffin will be transferred to the new State Hearse for its final journey to Windsor Castle.

Map showing route to Windsor

The castle, continuously inhabited by 40 monarchs across almost 1,000 years, had special significance to the Queen throughout her life. As a teenager she was sent to the castle during the war years as London faced the threat of bombing, and more recently she made it her permanent home during the coronavirus pandemic.

Banner showing time 15:00

The hearse is expected to arrive for a walking procession up Windsor Castle’s Long Walk. The three-mile (5km) avenue will be lined with members of the armed forces.

Members of the public will be allowed access to the Long Walk to watch the procession pass.

The King and senior members of the Royal Family are expected to join the cortege in the Quadrangle in Windsor Castle a little later.

Route showing final section of the Queen's funeral procession

The castle’s Sebastopol and Curfew Tower bells will be tolled every minute and gun salutes will be fired from the castle’s grounds.

Banner showing time 16:00

Then the coffin will enter St George’s Chapel for a committal service.

St George’s Chapel is the church regularly chosen by the Royal Family for weddings, christenings and funerals. It is where the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan, were married in 2018 and where the Queen’s late husband Prince Philip’s funeral was held.

Inside St George's Chapel

Attended by a smaller, more personal congregation of about 800 guests, the committal service will be conducted by Dean of Windsor David Conner, with a blessing from Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.

The service will include traditions symbolising the end of the Queen’s reign.

The Imperial State Crown and the Sovereign’s orb and sceptre will be removed from the top of the coffin by the Crown Jeweller, separating the Queen from her crown for the final time.

At the end of the last hymn, the King will then place the Queen’s company camp colour, or flag, of the Grenadier Guards on the coffin. The Grenadier Guards are the most senior of the Foot Guards carrying out ceremonial duties for the monarch.

At the same time, the Lord Chamberlain, former MI5 chief Baron Parker, will “break” his wand of office and place it on the coffin. The snapping of the white staff will signal the end of his service to the sovereign as her most senior official in the Royal Household.

The Queen will then be lowered into the royal vault and the Sovereign’s piper will play before a blessing and the singing of God Save the King. The performance by the piper at Windsor was something the Queen had personally requested, Buckingham Palace said.

Banner showing time 16:45

The committal service will come to an end and the King and members of the Royal Family will leave the chapel.

Banner showing time 19:30

That evening, at a private family service, the Queen will be buried together with her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, at the King George VI memorial chapel, located inside St George’s Chapel.

Her marble slab will be engraved ELIZABETH II 1926-2022.

Banner of the Queen

SOURCE:BBC.COM
[forminator_poll id="710479"]

Latest stories

Mismanagement of gov’t revenues fueling energy sector challenges – Ablakwa

The Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, Samuel...

Denis Gyeyir calls for policy reforms to meet growing need for transition minerals

The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) is advocating for...

EC burns ballot papers for Ahafo and Volta Regions due to errors in serialization

The Electoral Commission (EC) has destroyed defective ballot papers...

Ghanaians lack awareness on spotting terror threats – Security Analyst warns

Security Analyst Dr. Vincent Azumah has raised concerns about...

Rice farmers yet to reap promised benefits PFJ phase 2

The President of the Ghana Rice Inter-Professional Body (GRIB),...

Related stories

Ghanaians among UN peacekeepers injured in Southern Lebanon attacks

The UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon has reported...

Russia denies Trump told Putin to restrain Ukraine war efforts

The Kremlin has rejected media reports suggesting that US...

More than 100 detained as protesters defy Amsterdam’s ban on protests

Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested in Amsterdam on...

Traffic jam erupts as cyclists from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng for dumplings

A social media trend that began as a lighthearted...

Adin Ross wins $1.6m on Trump election bet after public endorsement

American streamer and social media influencer Adin Ross scored...

“History’s greatest comeback” – Renowned personalities congratulate Trump

Following Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election,...

Trump declares himself winner in US election

Donald Trump has declared victory over Kamala Harris in...