Buckingham Palace has released the full details for Her Majesty’s funeral, including plans for a burial alongside her beloved husband Prince Philip.
The Queen’s coffin will be carried during the procession to Westminster Abbey on a 123-year-old gun carriage towed by 98 Royal Navy sailors in a tradition dating back to the funeral of Queen Victoria.
National Health service staff will be given the honour of walking in front of Her Majesty’s coffin after it begins to travel to Windsor following the Queen’s funeral on Monday.
Meziesblog learnt the King will once again lead his family in marching behind the Queen’s coffin when it is moved, at 10.44am on Monday, from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey for the Queen’s funeral service.
He will walk with the Princess Royal, Duke of York and Earl of Wessex and behind the quartet will be the Queen’s grandsons Peter Phillips, Duke of Sussex and the Prince of Wales.
They will be followed by the late monarch’s son-in-law Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke of Gloucester, the Queen’s cousin, and her nephew the Earl of Snowdon.
The Procession will be led by a massed Pipes & Drums of Scottish and Irish Regiments, the Brigade of Gurkhas, and the Royal Air Force – numbering 200 musicians.
It will arrive at the west gate of Westminster Abbey at 10.52am when the bearer party will lift the coffin from the gun carriage and carry it into the Abbey for the state funeral service, the Earl Marshal, who is in charge of the funeral arrangements, said.
The service will begin at 11am and will be conducted by the Dean of Westminster.
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.
The sermon will be given by the Archbishop of Canterbury who will also give the commendation, while the Dean will pronounce the blessing.
At around 11.55am the Last Post will sound, followed by two minutes of silence to be observed in the Abbey and throughout the UK.
Reveille, the national anthem and a lament played by the Queen’s piper, will bring the state funeral service to an end at around 12 noon.
The bearer party will then lift the coffin from the catafalque and will move in procession through the Great West Door returning to the State Gun Carriage positioned outside the West Gate.
The coffin will be followed by the King and the Queen Consort, the Prince and Princess of Wales and members of the Royal Family who will walk in the procession to Wellington Arch.
The Queen will be interred with her beloved husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, in King George VI’s Memorial Chapel in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, in a private service at 7.30pm on Monday.
The burial service conducted by the Dean of Windsor and attended by the King and royals will remain entirely private, as a “deeply personal family occasion”.
The King, the Princess Royal, the Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex will mount a 15-minute vigil around the Queen’s coffin as it lies in state at 7.30pm on Friday.
The Earl Marshal, the Duke of Norfolk, who is in overall charge of the ceremonial arrangements including the Queen’s funeral, said: “The events of recent days are a reminder of the strength of our Constitution, a system of government, which in so many ways is the envy of the world.
“The Queen held a unique and timeless position in all our lives. This has been felt more keenly over the past few days as the world comes to terms with her demise.
“Her Majesty’s passing has left many people across many continents with a profound sense of loss.
“The respect, admiration and affection in which the Queen was held, make our task both humbling and daunting. An honour and a great responsibility.
“It is our aim and belief that the state funeral and events of the next few days will unite people across the globe and resonate with people of all faiths, whilst fulfilling Her Majesty and her family’s wishes to pay a fitting tribute to an extraordinary reign.”
Heads of State from around the world are expected to attend the service, and thousands of people have queued for hours to pay respects to Her Majesty as she is Lying in State at Westminster Hall.
