Queen Elizabeth II will be laid to rest on Monday after a state funeral attended by leaders from around the world and a historic last ceremonial journey through the packed streets of London.
Huge crowds gathered in near silence to watch as the queen’s flag-draped coffin, topped with the Imperial State Crown, her orb, and sceptre, was carried slowly to a gun carriage from parliament’s Westminster Hall where it has lain in state since last Wednesday.
Members of the public pay their respects at 4.57 am, as they view the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, as it Lies in State inside Westminster Hall, at the Palace of Westminster in London on September 19, 2022. – (Photo by Yui Mok / POOL / AFP)
To a shouted order and the sound of pipes and drums, the gun carriage — used at every state funeral since that of Queen Victoria in 1901 — was then drawn by 142 junior enlisted sailors in the Royal Navy past Parliament Square to Westminster Abbey.
The thousand-year-old church’s tenor bell tolled 96 times at one-minute intervals — one for every year of her life — before the service began at 11:00 am (1000 GMT).
The longest-serving monarch in British history died at Balmoral, her Scottish Highland retreat, on September 8 after a year of declining health.
Her eldest son and successor, King Charles III, dressed in ceremonial military uniform, followed the solemn procession, alongside his three siblings.
Late Sunday, Charles, 73, and his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, said they had been “deeply touched” by the public’s flood of messages.
“As we all prepare to say our last farewell, I wanted simply to take this opportunity to say thank you,” he said.
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