Eyes of the world on Westminster Abbey as over 2,000 invited people gather for Elizabeth II’s funeral on Monday morning. Among these hundreds of crowned heads and heads of state and government. The country will stop for the national holiday, offices and shops will be closed: it is estimated that millions of people will flock along the Mall to watch the procession or watch the farewell ceremony from the screens set up in the parks. The cinemas have announced that they will broadcast the ceremony, as well as all national channels. The doors of Westminster Abbey will open at 8 am (9 am in Italy) when the guests begin to take their seats, three hours before the funeral begins at 11 am The Queen will be transported from the Houses of Parliament to the Abbey in the tank who also took his mother and father to the funeral from Westminster Hall. After the religious service, Elizabeth II’s coffin will travel the streets of London in a funeral procession that will end at the Wellington Arch, in Hyde Park, from where she will depart for Windsor.
The wood of the Sandringham estate
The Queen’s coffin is constructed of English oak, lined with lead and was made decades ago: as was tradition for royalty, oak grew on the Sandringham estate. It seems to have been made by the same company that made those of Churchill, Prince Philip and Princess Diana, with a system to preserve the body for as long as possible and slow down the decomposition process (a particularly important fact because the queen’s coffin will not be buried in the ground).
National holiday
Operation London Bridge (the code name for the highly detailed funeral plans, originally devised in the 1960s by royalty and government officials) required that if the funeral fell on a weekday, that day should be treated as a public holiday. King Charles III has determined that it will effectively be an official national holiday. The chimes of Big Ben will be muffled by a piece of leather.
The last farewell to Elizabeth II, all the grandchildren gathered for the vigil: William and Harry in uniform side by side
The day
6- At dawn on the last day of national mourning, the King’s Guards will hold their final vigil at the Queen’s oak coffin. The chapel will close at 8.30.
9- Big Ben will toll clearly. From now on, the bell’s hammer will be covered with a thick leather pad to cushion his blows for the rest of the day, out of respect for the late monarch.
10.30am- The Queen’s coffin will be transported from Parliament to Westminster Abbey, moved on a military chariot pulled by young Navy soldiers, instead of horses. The procession, led by King Charles, together with members of the Royal Family, will be accompanied by soldiers. The coffin will arrive at 10.52 at the Abbey and will be transported inside.
11- The state funeral will be presided over by the Dean of Westminster and the Archbishop of Canterbury, will be broadcast live on TV, not only in the UK, and it is estimated that they will be seen by millions of people around the time (it could become one of the most viewed live events in history). The Abbey was the scene of many of the most important stages in the queen’s life, from her coronation to her marriage to Prince Philip. But also many funerals, starting with that of Princess Diana in 1997 and of the Queen Mother in 2002. The funeral of Count Mountbatten of Burma, Philip’s uncle, was also held in the Abbey in 1979. At the end of the service, there will be two minutes of national silence.
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12- The coffin will then be placed back on the military chariot, before the royal funeral procession solemnly moves through Parliament Square, Whitehall, Constitution Hill, The Mall and Buckingham Palace, arriving at Wellington Arch at 1pm.
13-The coffin will be returned to Windsor, the castle where the queen spent most of the last years of her life, until her final resting place, at St. George’s Chapel, where she will arrive at 3.15pm.
16-The queen will be buried in the Chapel of San Giorgio next to her husband, Prince Philip. The final blessing of the body will therefore begin, also live on TV, conducted by the Dean of Windsor. Before the last hymn, the Imperial State crown, scepter and orb will be removed from the coffin by the crown jeweler. Then, at the end of the service, the coffin will be lowered into the Royal Vault, where she will be buried along with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, her parents and her sister Margaret.
19- King Charles will meet with closest family members for a private funeral service, the monarch will scatter land on the coffin.