Latest: World prepares to say thank you to Queen at state funeral
Millions around the globe are expected to watch the late monarch’s funeral in London.
All eyes are on London for the Queen’s state funeral.
VIPs, dignitaries and mourners will gather in the capital to say a final farewell to the late monarch, who died at Balmoral in Scotland on September 8 aged 96.
Timings
The funeral service will begin at 11am at Westminster Abbey, where the doors will open three hours earlier so the thousands of invited guests can take their seats.
The service is expected to last an hour and then a procession will set off at 12.15pm to Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner, arriving at 1pm.
The state hearse and royal family will then travel to Windsor, where a committal service will take place at 4pm in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
A private burial service will take place at 7.30pm.
6.08am
Hundreds of people are still streaming out of Westminster Hall after seeing the Queen lying in state.
They are among the final people to see the Queen’s coffin, with the lying in state expected to finish at 6.30am.
They have been waiting for hours, with the queue closing after 10.30pm on Sunday.
6.05am
How to watch on television
The BBC’s special programming will air from 8am until 5pm on BBC One and iPlayer, with BSL signed coverage on BBC Two.
ITV’s programming will start at 9.30am, and all the day’s programming – from 6am to midnight – will be broadcast simultaneously on the main channel and five digital channels and the ITV Hub, the first time the broadcaster has done so.
6am
The Queen’s funeral service will be conducted by the Dean of Westminster, with the sermon given by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Prime Minister and the Secretary General of the Commonwealth 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.
Towards the end of the service, the Last Post will sound, followed by two minutes of silence to be observed in the abbey and around the UK.
- US president Joe Biden and French president Emmanuel Macron will be among the 2,000 people gathered inside Westminster Abbey.
- The leaders of most Commonwealth countries, including New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her Canadian and Australian counterparts Justin Trudeau and Anthony Albanese, are expected to attend.
- Germany’s president Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Italy’s president Sergio Mattarella and Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro are among those attending, along with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
- King Felipe of Spain and his wife, Queen Letizia, are among the European royals set to be there.
- They will join members of the British royal family, UK prime ministers past and present and key figures from public life.
- Downing Street said nearly 200 key workers and volunteers recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in June have been invited.
- A senior palace official said heads of state and overseas government representatives, including foreign royal families, governors-general and realm prime ministers, will gather at the Royal Hospital Chelsea and “travel under collective arrangements” to the abbey.