The state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II will take place Monday, September 19, at Westminster Abbey in London, Buckingham Palace announced on Saturday. The new king will carry out a vigil to say goodbye to Britain’s longest reigning monarch, who died aged 96.
On Sunday, the queen’s coffin, which has been resting in the ballroom at Balmoral estate in Scotland will leave for Edinburgh. It will travel by road through villages and the cities of Aberdeen and Dundee before arriving at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the monarch’s official residence in Scotland.
Along the route, dedicated viewing points are being set up.
“We anticipate many, many people will be keen to pay their respects,” First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said.
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At Holyroodhouse, the queen’s coffin will rest in the Throne Room.
King Charles III will host representatives of Commonwealth realms for whom he becomes head of state at Buckingham Palace.
On Monday, the king and his wife Camilla, now Queen Consort, will visit parliament to receive condolences. Later, they will fly to Edinburgh. The King will take part in the Ceremony of the Keysat Holyroodhouse palace. The ceremony traditionally marks the start of Holyrood Week, when the queen visits Scotland.
The king and other royals will take part in a procession to convey the queen’s coffin along Edinburgh’s Royal Mile to St Giles’ Cathedral, before a religious service.
King Charles III will return to St Giles’ later in the evening to take part in a vigil over the coffin with other family members.
There will also be an opportunity for the public to visit the coffin as it lies in rest guarded by the Royal Company of Archers.
On Tuesday, the Queen’s coffin will be flown by the Royal Air Force to an airfield near London, accompanied by the queen’s daughter Anne, the Princess Royal, and then driven to Buckingham Palace, to rest in the Bow Room.
On Wednesday, the king will lead the procession behind the gun carriage carrying the queen’s coffin from Buckingham Palace to parliament’s Westminster Hall, accompanied by a military parade and members of the Royal Family.
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Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will conduct a short service after the coffin arrives. The Queen will lie in state in Westminster Hall for four full days before her funeral.
Once in Westminster Hall, the Queen’s coffin will be topped with the Imperial State Crown, orb and sceptre, according to BBC.
On Monday, September 19, the queen’s coffin will be taken in procession to Westminster Abbey for a state funeral at 11:00 am.
Political leaders and heads of state including US President Joe Biden are expected to attend the event. The day has been declared a Bank Holiday across the UK.
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After the funeral, the coffin will be taken to Windsor, for a televised committal service at St George’s Chapel.
The queen will be interred privately at the King George VI memorial chapel, alongside her husband, Prince Philip, the ashes of her sister Princess Margaret, their mother, also called Elizabeth, and father George VI.
