Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey in central London is expected to take place on Monday, September 19th, reports stated. Heads of state, prime ministers and presidents, as well as European royals and other key figures from public life will gather in the Abbey, which can hold a congregation of 2,000. President Joe Biden is likely to lead the US delegation at the state funeral.
All Royal Family members are expected to be at the funeral, including Queen Elizabeth II’s children—King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward—as well as their partners and children, among them Prince William and Prince Harry. A Who’s Who of the British aristocracy and political establishment will be among the mourners. Several foreign heads of state are also expected.
Buckingham Palace will confirm the date and the details, but it will be at London’s Westminster Abbey. The abbey is the site of previous coronation ceremonies, including Queen Elizabeth II’s in 1953. It can hold up to 2,000 attendees.
As per reports, the body of the Queen who died in Scotland on Sep. 8th will be transported to Holyrood House, her residence in the Scottish capital Edinburgh. Then, a procession will carry her coffin to St. Giles Cathedral for a memorial service. Next, her coffin will be brought to London by Royal Train or possibly by air. It will be taken to Buckingham Palace, before being escorted to the Palace of Westminster by a gun-carriage procession.
When it arrives at Westminster Hall, lying in state will take place for a few days. Other royals have also lain in state here, including the Queen’s parents—the Queen Mother and King George VI. Viewings will reportedly be allowed for 23 hours a day, in hopes of accommodating the expected half-a-million members of the British public wanting to pay their respects.
The Government will also announce that the funeral day will be a public holiday in the form of a Day of National Mourning. The period of Her Majesty’s coffin lying in state in Westminster Hall – where her father’s body lay for three days after his death in 1952 – is expected to begin on September 14.
The service will be televised, and a national two minutes’ silence is expected to be held. The same day as the funeral, the Queen’s coffin will be taken to St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle for a televised committal service.
The Queen’s final resting place will be the King George VI memorial chapel, an annex to the main chapel – where her mother and father were buried, along with the ashes of her sister, Princess Margaret. Her husband Prince Philip’s coffin will move from the Royal Vault to the memorial chapel to join the Queen’s.
