Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II is being laid to rest today, after a funeral at Westminster Abbey and procession to Windsor Castle as the UK bids farewell to its longest-serving monarch.
The Crown Jeweller removed the Imperial State Crown, the Orb and Sceptre from the Queen’s coffin before it was lowered into the royal vault.
Bouquets of flowers have been left outside Hillsborough Castle and Gardens in Northern Ireland in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II.
The committal service, attended by about 800 people, has ended.
The imperial State Crown was removed from the Queen’s coffin before it was lowered into the royal vault in St George’s Chapel.
This brings to a close the public events for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. A private burial service will be held later.
The committal service has begun at St. George’s Chapel, where the Queen often worshipped.
The Dean of Windsor says: “In the midst of our rapidly changing ad frequently troubled world, her calm and dignified presence has given us confidence to face the future, as she did, with courage and with hope.”
The King and other members of the Royal Family re-joined the funeral procession behind the Queen’s coffin at the castle’s Quadrangle.
The coffin has now been lifted up the West Steps into St George’s Chapel.
According to local visitor guides, Windsor Castle’s Long Walk is 2.64 miles long. Viewers may remember the tree-lined driveway from the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan in 2018.
Chopin’s Funeral March is played as the hearse moves towards the castle. Among those watching on is the Queen’s pony, called Emma. Her corgis, Muick and Sandy, are waiting for her at Windsor Castle.
The guests who have arrived for the committal service include former prime minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie.
Senior British royals, including King Charles III will join the procession at Windsor Castle’s Quadrangle.
Meanwhile, Camilla, the Queen Consort, will follow in a car along with Catherine, Princess of Wales, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
The procession has made its way through the countryside and has begun its way down Windsor Castle’s famous Long Walk towards St George’s Chapel.
Huge crowds have gathered on the lawn, while canons have been fired periodically since the Queen’s arrival.
The Royal Family has released details of the Committal Service that is due to take place at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle at 4pm.
The booklet includes exact timings of the service, including that the State Hearse carrying Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin is due to halt at the bottom of the chapel’s West Steps at 3.53pm.
At the end of a hymn, Britain’s King will place the Queen’s ”company camp colour” on her coffin. The Lord Chamberlain will break his “wand” and place it on the coffin. The Dean of Windsor will read from the Book of Psalms as the coffin is lowered, according to the Order of Service booklet.
Members of the public have thrown flowers towards the hearse carrying the Queen’s coffin as it made its way towards Windsor.
God Save the King has been played again and the coffin has now been placed in the back of the hearse which will take the queen on her last journey from central London to the grounds of Windsor Castle where she will be laid to rest in a private ceremony. King Charles III salutes his mother one last time. The hearse is due to arrive at Windsor at just after 3pm today.
The funeral cortege is now on its way to Windsor. There are still thousands lining the route as the cortege leaves London. There are crowds now gathering at St George’s Chapel.
The coffin now leaves Westminster Abbey. The procession is led by King Charles III followed by other members of his family and then the clergy whohave participated in the funeral ceremony.
The note on the top of the coffin reads: “In loving and devoted memory”.
Various church leaders in the UK are now reading out the prayers. Queen Elizabeth II was also head of the Church of England.
The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, which will be mounted on a gun carriage, will not be pulled by horses as one might expect, but by Royal Navy ratings (apprentice sailors). This is a tradition going back to the funeral of Queen Victoria when some of the horses that were supposed to pull her gun carriage bolted and the Royal Navy stepped in.
President Michael D Higgins, US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill have arrived as have President Emmanuel Macron of France and the Chinese vice-president Wang Qishan.
Read our obituary of Queen Elizabeth II
Listen to London Editor Denis Staunton on the death of Queen Elizabeth II
How will the UK cope with losing Queen Elizabeth II?
London editor Denis Staunton on the death of Queen Elizabeth II: how the world learned she was dying, what happens next, and the impact her death will have on the British people and the monarchy itself.
How many countries have been invited to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II? It would be easier to count the ones that have not been invited, just three in fact, Russia obviously, Belarus and Myanmar, a former British colony when it was Burma. Somewhat surprisingly North Korea, Iran and Syria are all invited.
There will be a sizable Irish contingent there today made up of the President Michael D Higgins, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Sinn Féin deputy leader Michelle O’Neill, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, Alliance Party leader Naomi Long, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Doug Beattie and Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leader Colum Eastwood. Sinn Féin’s Alex Maskey will also be attending in his role as Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Senior figures from Ireland’s four largest churches will all be attending. They are the Catholic Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin, the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh John McDowell, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church the Right Reverend John Kirkpatrick and President of the Methodist Church the Reverend David Nixon.
Patricia Donnelly, who was made an OBE in recognition of her work at the head of the Covid-19 vaccination programme in Northern Ireland, will be in attendance as will be the Reverend Mervyn Gibson, grand secretary of the Orange Order, who was made an MBE for services to the community.
The last funeral of a British monarch took place on February 15th, 1952. The then Minister for Foreign Affairs Frank Aiken, a former IRA commander in the War of Independence and Civil War, along with the Irish ambassador to Great Britain Frederick Henry (F.H) Boland attended.
How many people around the world will watch Queen Elizabeth’s funeral today? According to “experts” it will be 4.1 billion. Why such a precise figure? It’s half the world’s population. The truth is that nobody knows. Audiences are likely to be a lot smaller in the western hemisphere where it is still night time.
Nice comments today in The Irish Times by the British ambassador Paul Johnson.
Good morning and welcome to today’s coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. The funeral takes place between 11am and 12.15pm, but the ceremony will go on all day. Guests have started arriving in Westminster Abbey. At 10.30am the Queen’s coffin will be carried by gun carriage to the Abbey and at precisely 10.44am the Royal Family will follow the coffin into the Abbey. At 1pm the coffin will be transferred to hearse and it will take precisely two hours and six minutes to reach St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle for its final resting place.
