Queen’s funeral to be held on Monday 19 September

  1. The Queen’s funeral will be held on Monday 19 September
  2. She will lie in state in Westminster Hall for four days beforehand, and mourners will be able to pay their respects
  3. The funeral service will be held in Westminster Abbey and she will be laid to rest in Windsor
  4. Tomorrow, the Queen’s coffin will be taken from Balmoral to Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh
  5. Her daughter, Princess Anne will accompany it when it is flown to London
  6. Earlier today, Charles III was proclaimed king at an elaborate ceremony in London
  7. Prince William says the Queen was with him on his happiest moments and during the saddest days of his life
  8. The Queen, the UK’s longest-reigning monarch, died peacefully at Balmoral Castle on Thursday afternoon at the age of 96

In the days before his mother’s funeral, King Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla, will travel to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

The first stop will be Scotland, where they will visit the Scottish parliament and join a vigil in memory of the monarch.

On Tuesday, the royal couple will travel by air to Belfast and visit Hillsborough Castle, where they will view an exhibition on the Queen’s long association with Northern Ireland.

They will also attend a service in memory of the Queen and receive a message of condolence led by the speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

After returning to London, where they will witness the arrival of Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin, the couple will travel to Wales on Friday.

Queen’s final journey to end in sombre grandeur

The Queen’s final journey will begin tomorrow with her oak coffin being carried by her Balmoral gamekeepers, her own staff bringing her to a hearse that will take her to Edinburgh.

That journey, beginning in simplicity, will end with the sombre grandeur of a state funeral in Westminster Abbey.

It will be the first state funeral that many of us will have seen, with the last being Sir Winston Churchill in 1965.

The public will be able to pay their own respects when the Queen’s coffin will be in St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, and then over four full days in Westminster Hall in London.

King Charles will also have to carry out a series of engagements – as well as taking part in the mourning for his mother in Scotland, he will also go to meet political and civic leaders in Northern Ireland and Wales.

After the first phase of mourning, the planning for the funeral is now moving into place.

More details on the funeral

As we reported, the Queen’s state funeral will be held on Monday 19 September at Westminster Abbey.

The historic church is where Britain’s kings and queens are crowned, and where Queen Elizabeth II married Prince Philip in 1947.

Heads of state from across the world will be invited to join members of the Royal Family to remember the life and service of the Queen.

Senior UK politicians and former prime ministers are also expected to attend the service, which will be televised.

The service will likely be conducted by the Dean of Westminster David Hoyle, with the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby giving the sermon. Prime Minister Liz Truss may be called on to read a lesson.

Princess Anne to bring mother to London

Princess Anne will accompany Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin to London ahead of the funeral, Buckingham Palace says.

The monarch died peacefully on Thursday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

Buckingham Palace said the coffin would depart for Edinburgh airport on Tuesday and then be flown to London by RAF Northolt, with the Queen’s only daughter on board.

The coffin is expected to arrive at Buckingham Palace at 20:00 GMT on Tuesday, where King Charles III and Queen Camilla will witness its arrival.