Queen Elizabeth’s funeral: What to expect and a timeline of Monday’s proceedings
Queen Elizabeth II will finally be laid to rest on Monday — a funeral that’s been meticulously planned for decades and is expected to be the most-watched live event in TV history.
After 10 days of tributes and ceremonies, King Charles III and his royal family will lead a final, all-day, pomp-filled sendoff involving three somber ceremonies and the same number of processions for her flag-covered coffin.
Here, The Post gives a comprehensive guide to the expected events marking the final day of “Operation London Bridge.”
END OF LYING IN STATE (1:30 a.m. EST)
At 6:30 a.m. UK time (1:30 a.m. in New York) the doors of Westminster Hall will finally be closed, officially ending her lying in state.
Just beforehand, the final group of the thousands of well-wishers who have lined up for as long as 24 hours will be allowed in to pay their respects to the queen in her coffin draped with the Royal Standard.
By 8 a.m. London time — three hours before the start of the service — the doors of Westminster Abbey will be opened to start allowing in guests, including world leaders such as President Biden and his first lady.
PROCESSION STARTS (5:35 a.m. EST)
Just after 10:35 a.m. local time (5:35 A.M. in New York), a bearer party from The Queen’s Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards — the royal-protection unit known for its distinctive high-standing furry hats — will lift the queen’s coffin from the catafalque where it has been in state.
They will carry her coffin to the state gun carriage of the Royal Navy — which was first removed from active service in 1901 for the funeral of Queen Victoria. It was also used for the funerals of King Edward VII, King George V, King George VI, Winston Churchill and Lord Louis Mountbatten.
The procession will start at 10:44 a.m. local time — 5:44 a.m. in New York — with new King Charles III and other senior royals walking immediately behind the late queen’s coffin.
It will be led by the massed pipes and drums of Scottish and Irish Regiments, the Brigade of Gurkhas, and the Royal Air Force band.
The Royal Navy and Royal Marines will be among those lining the procession route to Westminster Abbey, passing a guard of honor and Royal Marines band in Parliament Square.
Just eight minutes later, the procession is due to arrive at Westminster Abbey, where the queen also married Prince Philip in 1947 and had her official coronation in 1953. The bearer party will then lift the coffin from the State Gun Carriage and into the abbey.
THE CEREMONY (6 a.m. EST)
The funeral is due to start at 11 a.m. local time (6 a.m. in New York) with the abbey packed full of world leaders and dignitaries, as well as 200 citizens invited for their “extraordinary contributions” to British life.
The service will be led by Dean of Westminster David Hoyle, with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, giving the sermon and commendation.
New Prime Minister Liz Truss — the last person photographed with the queen — will be one of those speaking. 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 also all say prayers.
LAST POST AND TWO-MINUTES SILENCE
The end of the hour-long service will be marked by a traditional Last Post, followed by a national two minutes of silence at around 11:55 a.m. local time (just before 7 a.m. in New York.)
The Queen’s Piper will bring the funeral to an end at midday (7 a.m. in New York) with a lament and the National Anthem.
The bearer party will again move the coffin to the same gun carriage, followed by King Charles, Queen Consort Camilla and other senior royal relatives.
PROCESSION TO WELLINGTON ARCH
The king will again lead his family in following the coffin in a second procession, this time to Wellington Arch, which was completed in 1830 as an original entrance to Buckingham Palace.
However, the queen consort will instead follow in a car with new Princess of Wales Kate Middleton, and then Meghan Markle will be in another with Prince Edward’s wife, Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
The procession — expected to take nearly an hour — will again be flanked by military members, with others lining the route, some firing gun salutes.
The King’s Guard will turn out in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace and will give a royal salute as the coffin passes Queen Victoria Memorial.
At Wellington Arch, the coffin will be transferred to the state hearse ready for the final journey to the queen’s beloved Windsor. Her grieving relatives will follow by car.
PROCESSION IN WINDSOR (10:10 a.m. EST)
The hearse is expected to arrive in Windsor soon after 3 p.m. local time (10 a.m. in New York) ready for a third procession.
In addition to his family, King Charles will be joined by members of his and his late mother’s households, with military members again joining the route and forming guards of honor for the procession.
At 3:53 p.m. local time — just before 11 a.m. in New York — the hearse will halt by the west steps of St. George’s Chapel in Horseshoe Cloister. The bearer party will again lift her coffin for the committal service.
COMMITTAL SERVICE (11 a.m. EST)
As well as royals, guests at the service include previous UK prime ministers as well as past and present members of the late queen’s household. Most will not have been at the earlier London service.
Before the final hymn, the late queen’s crown and orb and scepter will be removed from her coffin and placed at the altar.
Lord Chamberlain Lord Andrew Parker — the most senior officer of the Royal Household — will then ceremoniously “break” his “wand of office” and place it on the coffin.
The Dean of Windsor, David Conner, will then say a final psalm and commendation as the queen’s coffin is lowered into the Royal Vault.
The sovereign’s piper will play a lament, walking away slowly so that the music slowly fades.
The Archbishop of Canterbury will then pronounce the blessing, with the service ending with a rendition of “God Save the King.”
As the king and his royal relatives depart, it marks the end of the public ceremonial events.
PRIVATE BURIAL (2:30 p.m. EST)
The service and burial at the King George VI Memorial Chapel “will be entirely private, given it is a deeply personal occasion,” a spokesman for the king said.
The king and his family will be together for the service, conducted by the Dean of Windsor, at 7:30 p.m. local time (2:30 p.m. in New York).
The Gothic chapel, on the grounds of the nearly 1,000-year-old Windsor Castle, is named after her father, who died of cancer in 1952 while his daughter and heiress to the throne was just 25 years old.
It also houses the remains of King George’s wife, the Queen Mother Elizabeth, and the ashes of his younger daughter, Princess Margaret.
She will ultimately be buried alongside Prince Philip, the queen’s husband of 73 years who died last year just shy of his 100th birthday, the palace said.
