The funeral of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, who died this week after 70 years on the throne, will be held on Monday, September 19th, England’s most senior peer who is in charge of state occasions said on Saturday.
The coffin will be taken from Balmoral Castle to Edinburgh on Sunday before being flown to London on Tuesday. It will later lie in state at Westminster Hall from Wednesday until the morning of the funeral.
“We will carry out our duty over the coming days with the heaviest of hearts, but also with the firmest of resolve to ensure a fitting farewell to one of the defining figures of our times,” said the Earl Marshal, Edward Fitzalan-Howard, the Duke of Norfolk.
Meanwhile, King Charles III paid tribute to the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth, “unequalled in its duration, its dedication and its devotion”, as he was formally declared Britain’s new monarch.
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The king spoke movingly about his mother and the grief his family is experiencing, but said the “sympathy expressed by so many to my sister and brothers” had been the “greatest consolation”.
Watched by the queen, the new Prince of Wales and more than 200 privy counsellors — including six former British prime ministers — the king pledged himself to the task now before him and the “heavy responsibilities of sovereignty”.
The king began by discharging the “sorrowful duty” of announcing the death of his “beloved mother”, and told the accession council: “I know how deeply you, the entire nation — and I think I may say the whole world — sympathise with me in the irreparable loss we have all suffered.
“It is the greatest consolation to me to know of the sympathy expressed by so many to my sister and brothers and that such overwhelming affection and support should be extended to our whole family in our loss.”
The king spoke of the late queen’s “selfless service”, adding: “My mother’s reign was unequalled in its duration, its dedication and its devotion. Even as we grieve, we give thanks for this most faithful life.”
He went on to say: “I am deeply aware of this great inheritance and of the duties and heavy responsibilities of sovereignty which have now passed to me. In taking up these responsibilities, I shall strive to follow the inspiring example I have been set in upholding constitutional government and to seek the peace, harmony and prosperity of the peoples of these islands and of the Commonwealth Realms and Territories throughout the world.”
The king ended by saying: “And in carrying out the heavy task that has been laid upon me, and to which I now dedicate what remains to me of my life, I pray for the guidance and help of almighty God.”
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The historic event was broadcast for the first time, giving the world a first glimpse of an ancient ceremony dating back centuries and one of the first changes to convention instigated by the new king.
Following convention, the king did not attend the first part of the ceremony when the clerk of the council Richard Tilbrook read the proclamation to the packed meeting that confirmed the new monarch.
He said: “…Prince Charles Philip Arthur George, is now, by the death of our late sovereign of happy memory, become our only lawful and rightful liege lord, Charles III…”
The meeting was staged in the state rooms of St James’s Palace, and the clerk declared to the room: “God save the king,” with the privy counsellors repeating the famous phrase.
The new British monarch became king the moment his mother died, but an accession council must be convened following the death of a sovereign — usually within 24 hours. — PA/Reuters