London - The state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II at London's Westminster Abbey on Monday will be the culmination of decades of meticulous planning.
Here is how the day will unfold:
- Return to the abbey - The last time Westminster Abbey was used for a monarch's funeral was for King George II in 1760. Since then, the preferred church has been St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle but Elizabeth opted for a larger venue.
On the morning of the funeral, the lying in state -- begun at Westminster Hall in parliament on Wednesday -- will continue until 6:30 am (0530 GMT). At 6:30 am, the doors will close in preparation for the transfer of the coffin to the nearby abbey.
- Gun carriage - Shortly after 10:35 am a bearer party will lift the coffin from the catafalque, a raised platform, and carry it to the state gun carriage which will be waiting outside the North Door of Westminster Hall. The state gun carriage is a field gun carriage held by the Royal Navy since 1901 when it was withdrawn from active service for the funeral of Queen Victoria.
It was also used for the funerals of kings Edward VII, George V, the queen's father George VI, wartime prime minister Winston Churchill and Lord Louis Mountbatten, who was the last viceroy of British-ruled India.
It will be drawn by 142 junior enlisted sailors -- naval ratings -- rather than horses and will set off at 10:44 am. The queen's eldest son and successor, King Charles III, will lead members of the royal family walking behind the coffin to the West Gate of Westminster Abbey, arriving at 10:52 am.
The funeral, conducted by the Dean of Westminster, David Hoyle, with Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby giving the sermon, will start at 11:00 am. Towards the end of the service at around 11:55 am, the Last Post bugle call will sound, followed by a two-minute silence.
London Heathrow Airport said flights would be stopped into and out of the airport 15 minutes before and after the silence. The service will close with the national anthem and a Lament, a musical expression of grief, at around noon.
- Major security operation - Westminster Abbey can hold up to 2,200 people. Those present in the congregation will include family members, Britain's Prime Minister Liz Truss, senior politicians, former premiers, and more than 100 kings, queens and heads of state and other VIPs. Invitations are expected to be sent to representatives of all countries with which Britain has diplomatic relations. The palace has not released a formal guest list. Russia and Belarus have not been invited because of the war in Ukraine, diplomatic sources said this week. Military-run Myanmar and isolated North Korea have also not been invited, with no attendance either by representatives from Syria, Venezuela or Taliban-run Afghanistan.
- Journey to Windsor - At 12:15 pm, the coffin will be drawn on the gun carriage, followed on foot by members of the royal family led by the king, to Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner near Buckingham Palace, from where it will continue to Windsor by royal hearse. The hearse will arrive at Windsor at 3:06 pm and make its way to the castle via the Long Walk avenue, again with flights stopped, as the castle is on the flight path into and out of Heathrow.
The king and senior members of the royal family will join the procession on foot from the Quadrangle at Windsor Castle at around 3:40 pm before the cortege halts at the chapel at 3:53 pm. The televised committal service starts at 4:00 pm. Monday's committal service is expected to be attended by at least 800 people, most of whom will not have been at the abbey. They will include past and present staff members who worked for the queen.
At the end of the service, the coffin will be lowered into the Royal Vault as the queen's piper plays a lament from the doorway and the Archbishop of Canterbury pronounces the blessing. "God Save the King" will be sung and the service ends.
- Final resting place - A private burial service will be held at 7:30 pm. The queen's final resting place will be the King George VI memorial chapel, which is an annexe to the main chapel, alongside her husband Prince Philip.
The queen's mother and father -- King George VI and Queen Elizabeth the queen's mother -- were interred there with the ashes of her younger sister Princess Margaret. har/phz/gw/smw By Helen ROWE
Here are a few numbers related to the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on Monday.
- 1,500 - The number of miles (2,414 kilometres) travelled by the new King Charles III in his first week on the throne. Charles began his reign with visits to Scotland, where he was at the time of the queen's death on September 8, then Northern Ireland and Wales -- the three nations that along with England make up the United Kingdom.
- 750,000 - The number of people London transport chiefs estimate could join the queue for the queen's lying-in-state, with more than a million potentially travelling to London over the whole 10-day public mourning period including the funeral.
Around 33,000 people filed past the monarch in the space of 24 hours when her coffin lay at rest in Edinburgh's St. Giles' Cathedral on Monday and Tuesday.
- 2,868 - The number of diamonds in the Imperial State Crown, worn by Elizabeth at her coronation in 1953 and which now rests atop her coffin. There are also 269 pearls, 17 sapphires and 11 emeralds. - 5 - The number of monarchs and their consorts who have previously lain in state in Westminster Hall: Edward VII, 1910; George V, 1936; George VI, 1952; Queen Mary (widow of George V), 1953; Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, mother of Elizabeth II, 2002.
- 189 - By the time the last mourners pay their respects at 6:30 am on Monday, the queen will have lain in state in Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the UK parliament, for over 189 hours.
- 10 - The total number of miles for which officials have prepared "queueing infrastructure" for those wanting to see the queen's coffin. There will be 6.9 miles (11.1 kilometres) from central London to the capital's Southwark Park just to the east of Westminster, plus a further three miles inside the park. - 1,000 - Over 1,000 stewards, volunteers, marshals and police will be on hand at any one time to assist those who join the line.
- 2,200 - The number of people expected to attend the funeral at Westminster Abbey. The same number -- the maximum the abbey can hold -- attended the queen's mother's funeral there in 2002. More than 100 kings, queens and heads of state are expected to attend, including US President Joe Biden.
- 17 - Number of holders of the Victoria Cross and George Cross -- the UK's two highest awards for gallantry -- who are due to be present at the funeral. - 4.1 billion - An estimated 4.1 billion people are expected to watch the queen's funeral worldwide, smashing all previous records. - 142
- The number of naval ratings -- junior enlisted sailors -- who will draw the state gun carriage carrying the queen's coffin during Monday's funeral processions. - 800 - Monday's committal service at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle will be attended by at least 800 people, most of whom will not have been at the earlier funeral service at Westminster Abbey. They will include past and present staff members who worked for the queen at her various royal estates.
- 5 - The King George VI Memorial Chapel inside the main St. George's Chapel at Windsor where the queen is to be buried will be the final resting place of only five people including the queen. The others are her parents, sister and late husband Philip.
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