Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral service has begun. It is being led by the Dean of Westminster accompanied by music from the choristers from The Choir of Westminster Abbey as well as The Choir of His Majesty’s Chapel Royal. 

The royal funeral will feature three hymns, two anthems and two new works composed specifically for the service by Scottish composer Sir James MacMillan and the Master of the King’s Music, Judith Weir. 

The three hymns being sung at the funeral service are as follows:

The day Thou gavest, Lord, is ended

The first of the three hymns will be sung after the Dean of Westminster gives the go ahead. Notably, the song was performed at the Diamond Jubilee celebrations for Queen Elizabeth’s great-great grandmother, Queen Victoria, in 1897.

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The Lord’s my Shepherd

The second hymn was considered to be the late Queen’s favourite. it will be sung after the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Liz Truss gives the second reading.

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Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

The final hymn will come after the The Lord’s Prayer, is said. This hymn was written by Charles Wesley, who wrote over 6,500 hymns in his time, including Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. 

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The two new pieces of music created by Weir and Sir MacMillan are as below.

Like as the Hart was developed by Weir, who serves as the Master of the King’s Music. It is an unaccompanied musical setting of Psalm 42 from the Book of Common Prayer. Ahead of the ceremony, Weir said that she had composed the music based on the former Queen’s “strong faith in, and support of, Anglican worship”.

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The second piece developed my Sir MacMillan is considered the service’s Anthem. It is based on a text from the New Testament’s Epsitle to the Romans. 

The Queen’s funeral began at 11am on Monday morning September 19, 2022.