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If the King and his sons walk behind the Queen’s coffin today, they will leave Buckingham Palace at exactly 2:22 p.m.
The royal family will accompany their matriarch on foot on the journey to Westminster Hall, where hundreds of thousands of people are expected to pay their respects after standing in line for as much as 40 hours.
The exact reason for the timing has not been disclosed by the palace, but it is speculated that it may have biblical significance or be a tribute to the queen’s father, King George VI.
After his death in 1952, the bells tolled 56 times in Windsor — one for each year of his life — from 1:27 p.m. to 2:22 p.m.
Royal biographer Robert Lacey told MailOnline, however, that the simple reason for making sure the procession arrives at Westminster Hall at 3 p.m. is probably behind schedule.
He said: ‘It will be carefully mapped out. It is not taken out of thin air.
‘And I assume that the number of people who lag behind is taken into account.’
The procession is planned to take exactly 38 minutes to reach Westminster Hall, where a service led by the Archbishop of Canterbury will be held 20 minutes before the Queen is on record for four days.
A member of the army cleans a gun carriage from The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery as they make final preparations for the passage of the Queen’s casket to Westminster Hall
Among some Christians, the number 222 has a special meaning in representing unity and love and the personal relationship with God.
The Queen herself was a devout believer and was the supreme governor of the Church of England as monarch.
It is also believed that Jesus Christ died on the cross at 3pm, meaning the time of 2:22pm could have been chosen to ensure the procession arrives at Westminster Hall at that time.
It comes after members of the Household Division rehearsed to bring the Queen’s coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall overnight.
The 512-strong procession, dressed in their ceremonial attire, was lit by the city’s streetlights as they rehearsed for the handover.
During the early morning rehearsal, the horse-drawn carriage of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery was guided along the route.
A black box was placed on the gun carriage and about 4 o’clock the procession was ordered to march and the coach, drawn by seven black horses, made its way through the city. Police officers on horseback were also involved in the rehearsal.
Many streets in central London were closed for the massive operation.
The route takes the coffin through the Queen’s Gardens, The Mall, Horse Guards and Horse Guards Arch, Whitehall, Parliament Street, Parliament Square and New Palace Yard.
The royal family will accompany their matriarch on foot on the journey to Westminster Hall, where hundreds of thousands of people are expected to pay their respects after standing in line for as much as 40 hours.
Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence will also walk behind the procession, as will the Duke of Gloucester and the Earl of Snowdon.
The Queen Consort, the Princess of Wales, the Countess of Wessex and the Duchess of Sussex will travel by car.
Thousands of mourners have already lined up to attend the Queen’s Dressed Up, which begins at 5 p.m. and runs until 6:30 a.m. on Monday, September 19, the day of the Queen’s funeral.
According to government guidelines, the queue is expected to be very long, with people standing “many hours, possibly overnight” and with very little opportunity to be seated.
There were emotional scenes on Tuesday night as the late Queen was airlifted back to London and taken to Buckingham Palace for the last time.
As the hearse with the coffin began its journey from Northolt in north-west London, people stood still along the road as some captured the historic moment on their camera phones.
The Queen’s grandchildren were among the members of the royal family who paid their respects to the late monarch by witnessing the arrival of her coffin at the palace.
The presence of Charles, William and Harry in the procession on Wednesday will bring the father and sons together in their grief for a mother and grandmother.
William and Harry formed a united front with their wives during a mammoth walk on Saturday.
The brothers have a well-documented troubled relationship, but the death of their grandmother caused them to meet unexpectedly as they viewed the floral tribute bequeathed to the late Queen at Windsor Castle.
William, Kate, Harry and Meghan arrived in the same vehicle and greeted the benefactors about 40 minutes before William got into the driver’s seat of the Audi with his wife in the passenger seat and his brother and sister-in-law in the back.
In his televised address to the nation on Friday night, the King spoke of his love for Harry and Meghan, saying: “I also want to express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives abroad.”
When Harry paid tribute to his grandmother, he said he wanted to honor his father at the beginning of his reign as king.
The exact reason for the 2:22 p.m. departure has not been disclosed by the palace, but it is speculated that it may have biblical significance or be a tribute to the Queen’s father, King George VI. Above: Crowds gather in The Mall for the procession today
The last time Charles and his two sons were all seen together in public was in the Queen’s service at St Paul’s Cathedral during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June.
But on that occasion Harry and Meghan sat some distance from Charles and William on the other side of the aisle in the second row, behind the Wessex family and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
The anniversary service at St Paul’s was Harry and Meghan’s first public appearance alongside the Windsors since they step down as senior royals in 2020 amid the Megxit storm.
In April 2021, Harry and William joined their father as they walked behind the coffin of the Duke of Edinburgh at his funeral.
The brothers were separated by their cousin Peter Phillips, but at one point he slumped back half a step so that the siblings seemed closer together.
After the funeral we could see William and Harry talking as they walked back up the hill from the chapel to the castle.
The body of King George VI (1895 – 1952) in state in Westminster Hall