Queen Elizabeth’s funeral: Step-by-step plan, including Westminster Abbey service and procession to Windsor
Details have been released of the intricate detail of the Queen’s funeral including one final emotional touch to proceedings.
The Queen’s funeral details have today been revealed with royals to flank Her Majesty’s coffin as she’s laid to rest after seven decades of service.
And there will be heartbreaking details at the end of the ceremony as the monarch is finally laid to rest more than a week after her passing.
London will come to a standstill for the Monarch’s state funeral on Monday, September 19.
The funeral, which will begin at 11am (8pm AEST) and is being held at Westminster Abbey, comes after millions of mourners paid their respects to her in the last seven days, The Sun reported.
In solemn scenes, the royal family will be united – with Prince Harry and Prince William standing side-by-side.
Here is a step-by-step break down of the day:
The King will once again lead his family in marching behind the Queen’s coffin when it is moved, at 10.44am (7.44pm AEST) on Monday, from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey for the Queen’s funeral service.
He will walk with his sister Princess Anne, Duke of York and Earl of Wessex and behind the quartet will be the Queen’s grandsons Peter Phillips, Duke of Sussex and the Prince of Wales.
They will be followed by the late monarch’s son-in-law Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke of Gloucester, the Queen’s cousin, and her nephew the Earl of Snowdon.
The Queen’s coffin will be carried during the procession on a 123-year-old gun carriage towed by 98 Royal navy sailors in a tradition dating back to the funeral of Queen Victoria.
The Procession will be led by a massed Pipes & Drums of Scottish and Irish Regiments, the Brigade of Gurkhas, and the Royal Air Force – numbering 200 musicians.
On the way to Westminster Abbey, the procession will go through parliament Square, Broad Sanctuary and the Sanctuary.
The procession will arrive at the west gate of Westminster Abbey at 10.52am (7.52pm AEST) when the bearer party will lift the coffin from the gun carriage and carry it into the Abbey for the state funeral service.
The service will begin at 11am (8pm AEST) and will be conducted by the Dean of Westminster.
About 2000 people, including world leaders and foreign royals, will gather inside Westminster Abbey.
British Prime Minister Liz Truss, and Commonwealth Secretary-General Hon Patricia Scotland KC will read lessons, while the Archbishop of York, the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and the Free Churches Moderator will say prayers.
The sermon will be given by the Archbishop of Canterbury who will also give the commendation, while the Dean will pronounce the blessing.
At 11.55am (8.55pm AEST) The Last Post will sound, followed by a two-minute silence which will be observed throughout the country.
Reveille, the national anthem and a lament played by the Queen’s piper will bring the state funeral service to an end at around 12 noon (9pm AEST).
The bearer party will then lift the coffin from the catafalque and will move in procession through the Great West Door returning to the State Gun Carriage positioned outside the West Gate.
Journey to Hyde Park Corner
The coffin will be followed by the King and the Queen Consort, the Prince and Princess of Wales and members of the royal family who will walk in the procession to Wellington Arch.
The route will be lined by armed forces, formed in seven groups.
The King will then lead the royal family walking in procession, with others following by car.
Minute guns will be fired in Hyde Park, and Big Ben will toll throughout the procession.
At 1pm (10pm AEST), the procession will arrive at Wellington Arch, at Hyde Park Corner.
This ceremonial arch, constructed to commemorate Britain’s victory over France in the Napoleonic Wars, lies just metres from London’s Australian War Memorial.
The Queen dedicated the memorial in 2003 alongside then prime minister John Howard. Many royals have since paid their respects at the memorial on Anzac Days.
The bearer party will place the Queen’s coffin into the state hearse, and she will begin her final journey to Windsor.
The national anthem will be played, while the royal family depart for Windsor by car.
Final journey to Windsor
The hearse will arrive at the Shaw Farm Gate on Albert Road at 3.06pm (12.06am AEST).
At 3.10pm (12.10am AEST), the procession will step off.
They will head to the Chapel via Albert Road, Long Walk, George IV Drive, proceeding down Chapel Hill and into Horseshoe Cloister.
At 3.25pm (12.25am AEST) the Royal Family not walking in procession will arrive at West Chapel and be escorted to their seats.
At 3.40pm (12.40am AEST), the royals walking in procession will join it at Quadrangle.
The route will be lined by armed forces.
Minute guns will be fired from position on East Lawn as the Queen’s coffin moves from Shaw Farm Gate to George VI Chapel.
Guard of honour of 110 rank and file and three officers from grenadier guards will form in Horseshoe Cloister.
At 3.53pm (12.53am AEST) the procession will halt at bottom of the west steps to the Chapel and the bearer party will carry the coffin up.
St George’s Chapel will be opened to family and household staff, and about 800 people are expected to attend.
At 4pm (1am AEST), the committal service begins.
Final heartbreaking detail
The coffin procession will head down Central Aisle to Catafalque, and the service will be conducted by the Dean of Windsor.
A choir will sing during service.
Prior to final hymn, the imperial state crown, orb and sceptre will be removed from coffin by a crown jeweller.
They will then pass them to the Dean who will place them on the high altar.
At the end of final hymn, the King will place the Queen’s Company Camp Colour of the Grenadier Guards on the coffin.
Lord Chamberlain will break his wand of arm and place it on the coffin.
The coffin will then be lowered into Royal Vault, while a Sovereign piper plays a lament.
The King and royal family will the depart for Windsor Castle, for the Queen’s burial in the King George VI Memorial Chapel.
The funeral will be concluded with a private internment at 7.30pm (4.30am AEST) at Windsor Castle.
In a poignant final detail, the Queen will be laid to rest with her beloved husband, the Duke of Edinburgh who died last year.
His remains are currently in the Royal Vault but he will be moved to be side-by-side with the Queen.
The King George VI Memorial Chapel is the final resting place of her father King George VI, mother Queen Elizabeth, and sister Princess Margaret.
This article appeared in The Sun and is reproduced with permission.
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