The public have had their first glimpse of the coffin as they lined the roads to pay tribute
Queen Elizabeth II began her final journey, as her coffin left Balmoral for Edinburgh on Sunday 11 September 2022.
Her Majesty’s state funeral will take place at 11am on Monday, Sept 19 – but there will be many stops along the way, as members of the public are given the chance to pay their own respects to “one of the defining figures of our times”.
From Balmoral, the coffin travelled to Edinburgh, before it will be taken to London and finally Windsor, where Queen Elizabeth II will be interred next to her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, in a small family vault.
Details of the route the coffin took, and where the public were and will be able to take part, were released by Buckingham Palace on Sept 10. Full details of the funeral service itself are expected later in the week.
At 10am on Sunday, six gamekeepers from the Balmoral estate carried Her Majesty’s coffin from the castle ballroom through a small dining room to the entrance, where it was placed in a hearse for a slow six-hour drive to Edinburgh.
It was placed in the Throne Room by a bearer party found by The Royal Regiment of Scotland, and remain there overnight.
The King and Queen Consort will travel to Edinburgh from London to join the procession that will take the coffin from Holyroodhouse to St Giles’ Cathedral on the Royal Mile.
The hearse will set off at 2.35pm, flanked by a military bearer party, while the King and other members of the Royal family follow on foot. The Queen Consort and other members of the Royal family will follow in cars.
When the coffin arrives at the Cathedral at 2.55pm, it will be received by a guard of honour found by the Royal Company of Archers, before the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon, the keeper of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, places the Crown of Scotland onto it.
A service will be conducted by the Rev Calum MacLeod, Minister of St Giles’. The congregation “will be drawn from all areas of Scottish society”, according to a palace official.
Following the service, the coffin will rest in the Cathedral for 24 hours to enable the people of Scotland to pay their respects. A continuous vigil will be mounted by the Royal Company of Archers. The King and members of the Royal family will mount their own vigil at 7.20pm.
At 5pm, following prayers, the coffin will be taken by hearse from St Giles’ Cathedral to Edinburgh Airport, where it will be placed on board an RAF aircraft by a bearer party found by the Royal Air Force.
The Princess Royal will fly with her mother’s coffin on the journey to London, taking off at 6pm and landing at RAF Northolt, in west London, at 6.55pm. Also on the flight will be The Very Rev Professor David Fergusson, Dean of the Chapel Royal in Scotland.
On arrival at Northolt, the coffin will be placed in a state hearse, as a royal salute is given by an RAF guard of honour.
The hearse will drive to Buckingham Palace, where it will be received at the grand entrance by a guard of honour found by The King’s Guard. A bearer party found by The Queen’s Company, 1st Bn Grenadier Guards, will take the coffin to the Bow Room, where it will be placed on trestles in the centre of the room.
The arrival will be witnessed by the King and Queen Consort along with other members of the Royal family. The Rt Revd Dame Sarah Mullally, Dean of the Chapels Royal, will conduct prayers and a rota of chaplains to the King will keep watch over the coffin overnight.
The Imperial State Crown and a wreath of flowers will be placed on the coffin and prayers will be said by the Dean of the Chapels Royal in the presence of the King and other members of the Royal family.
At 2.22pm, the coffin will be placed on a gun carriage of The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery for the procession to the Palace of Westminster.
The King and other members of the Royal family will walk behind the coffin, with minute guns firing from Hyde Park and Big Ben tolling during what will otherwise be a silent journey – ending at 3pm when the coffin is taken into Westminster Hall.
The Archbishop of Canterbury will conduct a short service assisted by The Very Revd Dr David Hoyle, Dean of Westminster. Members of the Royal family who did not walk behind the coffin will also be present.
Inside Westminster Hall, the coffin will be placed on a catafalque. At the conclusion of the service, the Royal family will return to Buckingham Palace by car.
As the lying in state begins, a continuous vigil will be mounted by officers of the Household Division, the King’s Body Guards of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms, The King’s Bodyguard for Scotland, the Royal Company of Archers and The King’s Bodyguard The Yeomen of the Guard.
Lying in state will continue for another four clear days, during which members of the public will be able to file past the coffin to pay their own respects.
The late Queen will lie in state in Westminster Hall, which is expected to remain open for 23 hours per day to accommodate the substantial number of people who are expected to make the journey to central London.
Full details of how the public can attend will be announced by the Government later this week.
Public access to the lying in state will end at 6.30am on Monday, Sept 19, when the preparations for the state funeral will begin in earnest.
Full details of the programme for the state funeral have not yet been announced, but the coffin is expected to be taken on a gun carriage from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey, where hundreds of world leaders and members of foreign royal families will be in attendance.
The funeral service will end at 12.15pm, when the coffin will be taken on a gun carriage from Westminster Abbey to the Wellington Arch, where it will be placed in a hearse to make the journey to Windsor by road.
The hearse will arrive at Windsor Castle via The Long Walk, and will be taken into St George’s Chapel for a televised committal service attended by the Royal family.
Once the committal service is over, close family members will move to the tiny King George VI Memorial Chapel for a private interment ceremony.
In accordance with Queen Elizabeth II’s wishes, she will be buried alongside the Duke of Edinburgh – whose coffin will be moved from the royal vault in St George’s Chapel where it has rested since his funeral last year.
This article is kept updated with the latest information.
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