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6am – 8:30am: Last vigil at the Queen’s coffin in Westminster Hall
At dawn on the last day of national mourning, the King’s bodyguards begin their final vigil at the Queen’s oak casket in the Houses of Parliament. It then closes at 8.30am in preparation for the procession.
9:00 am: Big Ben will strike
Big Ben will clearly strike, before the bell’s hammer is covered with a thick leather pad to muffle its blows for the rest of the day, out of respect and reverence for the late monarch.
10.30am: The Queen’s coffin is carried from the House of Parliament to Westminster Abbey
The Queen’s casket will be moved to the state gun carriage that will be outside the north door of Westminster Hall.
From there it will be pulled through naval classifications with ropes rather than horses from the Hall to Westminster Abbey.
Huge crowds of mourners are expected to line the streets in Westminster as King Charles and senior members of the royal family follow the coffin as they did at the funeral of Princess Diana and Prince Philip. The army will also join the procession.
11 a.m.: The Queen’s coffin is carried to the high altar
About 2,000 guests, including members of the Royal Family, Prime Minister Liz Truss, former British Prime Ministers, foreign dignitaries including US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and possibly Japan Emperor Naruhito, among other VIPs, will fill the abbey and watch as the Queen’s coffin is moved by the nave to the high altar before the nation falls silent.
The state funeral at Westminster Abbey (pictured) is led by the Dean of Westminster and the Archbishop of Canterbury
11 a.m.-12 p.m.: The State Funeral in the Abbey
The state funeral will be presided over by the Dean of Westminster and the Archbishop of Canterbury.
It will be televised and is expected to be broadcast to millions of people around the world – and it could very well be one of the most watched live events in human history.
Royal experts believe that the choice of the abbey could be either because it is so large – it has a capacity of 2,000 but could be as many as 8,000 – and more live TV broadcasts have already taken place.
It is also believed that it could be a better place for large crowds to gather to pay their respects as it is in central London.
And the abbey was the setting for many of the most important events in the Queen’s life – from her coronation to her marriage to Prince Philip. The Princess Royal and the Duke of York, and the Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret, were also married there.
Other royal funerals have been held at the abbey, including that of Princess Diana in 1997 and that of the Queen Mother in 2002. The funeral of Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Philip’s uncle, also took place there in 1979.
Queen Elizabeth II at her coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey
The Queen is photographed smiling after her coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London on 2 June 1953
12 noon: The Last Post
At the end of the service, the Last Post and Reveille are played.
12.00-13.00: The Queen’s coffin is carried to Wellington Arch via The Mall
The Queen’s casket is then placed back on the state gun carriage, before the royal funeral procession will solemnly pass through Parliament Square, Whitehall, Constitution Hill and The Mall, past Buckingham Palace, arriving at Wellington Arch at 1pm.
13.00-16.00: The coffin is transported to Windsor
The coffin will then be transported to Windsor, where the Queen spent much of the last years of her life, to her final resting place in St George’s Chapel via the Long Walk.
The Queen’s casket will be lowered into the Royal Vault in St George’s Chapel in Windsor (pictured), where she will be buried next to her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, her beloved parents and her sister Princess Margaret
Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh in an official wedding photo taken on their wedding day in 1947
4pm: Queen is buried in St George’s Chapel by her husband Prince Philip
The dedicatory service led by the Dean of Windsor will then begin and will also be televised around the world.
Before the final hymn, the Imperial State Crown, Scepter and Orb will be removed from the Queen’s casket by the Crown Jeweler.
At the end of the service, a lament is played by a lone bagpiper as the coffin is lowered into the Royal Vault, where she will be buried next to her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, her beloved parents and her sister Margaret.
7pm: King Charles will attend a private funeral service in the chapel
King Charles and his immediate family will return to the chapel for a private funeral service, where – as the late Queen did for her father – the monarch will sprinkle earth on the coffin.