Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin has reached Westminster Abbey.
(Photo: AP)
London For three hours, around 500 heads of state and government and monarchs from all over the world have flocked to Westminster Abbey, where the funeral service for Queen Elizabeth II, who died ten days ago, began at 12 p.m. (11 a.m. British local time). Among them are US President Joe Biden, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
It’s almost a small United Nations (UN) General Assembly taking place today in the heart of London. The approximately 2,000 guests also include almost 200 British citizens who have made outstanding contributions to the common good and have therefore been invited to the funeral of the century.
Westminster Abbey is a special place for the royal family and especially for the late Queen: Elizabeth was married here in 1947 to Prince Philip, who died a year ago. Here she was crowned Queen in 1953. This is where an extraordinary life and a 70-year reign come to an end in front of a total of 2200 invited guests.
Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II: A million mourners gather in London
No monarch has “reigned” longer than the Queen. Even if her role as head of state of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth countries was primarily representative. There are still around 40 countries around the world that formally consider themselves a monarchy – even if political power has long been in other hands.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
Flags are flying at half-mast across the UK today. Around a million mourning citizens have gathered mainly along the Mall – the boulevard in the heart of London, which leads from Buckingham Palace almost to Trafalgar Square. Several billion people around the world will make the memorial service one of the biggest TV events of all time. Huge screens were erected in Hyde Park on which people can follow the meticulously planned funeral ceremonies.
>> Read also: All current developments regarding the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II can be found in our live blog
Most shops and offices in London remain closed on this national holiday. However, if you wanted to buy a coffee or a snack, there were enough stalls along the route for the funeral procession that followed later.
At 11.35am the Queen’s coffin was carried out of Westminster Hall onto a carriage which was towed by 142 members of the Royal Navy at 11.44am to nearby Westminster Abbey. The coffin was laid out in Westminster Hall for four days, and around 750,000 people passed by in mourning after having to wait up to 20 hours in a kilometer-long queue on the south bank of the Thames to be admitted.
Queen Elizabeth’s coffin is transported through London on the carriage.
(Photo: via REUTERS)
The carriage, which used to be used to transport cannons, was first used at the funeral of Queen Victoria. Since then it has been used for the funerals of Edward VII, George V, George VI, Winston Churchill and Lord Louis Mountbatten.
Burial of Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle
To the sound of Scottish bagpipes and Northern Irish drums, King Charles III. and his wife Camilla, along with other members of the royal family, carry the coffin on their short walk to the cathedral. The funeral service began there at 12 noon sharp, led by the Dean of Westminster, David Hoyle. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will deliver the funeral sermon. Before that, the new British Prime Minister Liz Truss addressed a few words to the mourners.
The King and his siblings followed Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin to Westminster Abbey.
(Photo: AP)
Two minutes of silence across the UK will be observed at the end of the ceremony. The coffin is then carried on the carriage in a funeral procession through Broad Sanctuary, Parliament Square, Whitehall, Horse Guards Parade, Horse Guards Road, The Mall and Constitution Hill to Hyde Park Corner.
At Wellington Arch, the coffin is then loaded onto the hearse, which takes the dead Queen across west London to Windsor. A second funeral service will be held there in St. George’s Chapel in front of around 800 mourners. At around 5 p.m., the Queen will be buried with her family next to her husband Prince Philip on the grounds of Windsor Castle.
More: “The Company” – King Charles and his family business