Queen Elizabeth II 1926–2022
The final journey London to Windsor, follow the route to the Queen's resting place
The Queen will be laid to rest at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor. Dominic Lipinski - WPA Pool/Getty Images
A kingdom united in grief will mourn the loss of their revered Queen on Monday. Pomp and pageantry will be on display as tens of thousands line the streets of the British capital and hundreds of millions tune in for the state funeral of Elizabeth II.
Monday’s ceremonial events are the culmination of nearly two weeks of public arrangements, codenamed “Operation London Bridge,” honoring Elizabeth’s remarkable life -- from a young princess who was not born to be Queen, to a sovereign who redefined the role and won almost universal admiration.
Following the Queen’s death at Balmoral on September 8, her coffin was flown back from Scotland and moved to London’s Westminster Hall in a somber procession. She will lie in state there until the morning of her funeral.
Crowds of mourners will flood the capital in the hopes of witnessing the coffin -- draped in the Royal Standard and carrying the Instruments of State -- one last time before the Queen makes the journey to her final resting place within St. George’s Chapel in Windsor. Here’s everything you need to know about Britain’s farewell to one its greatest ever monarchs.
Monday, September 19The day of the funeral and the final journey to Windsor
Westminster HallAt around 10:35 a.m. (5:35 a.m. ET), the coffin will be lifted from the catafalque. A bearer party founded by the Queen's Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards will carry it from Westminster Hall to the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy.
The gun carriage will set off at 10:44 a.m. (5:44 a.m. ET) on the short journey from New Palace Yard to Westminster Abbey, where the funeral service will take place. The route will be lined by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. King Charles III and members of the royal family will walk behind the coffin.
Westminster AbbeyThe service will be conducted by the Dean of Westminster, starting at 11 a.m. (6 a.m. ET). The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will deliver a sermon. Towards the end of the service, at around 11:55 a.m., the Last Post will sound before a two-minute silence is observed.
World leaders, politicians, public figures and European royals, as well as more than 500 dignitaries from around the world, will be at the service, which will be attended by up to 2,000 people.
Click below for a 360 view inside Westminster Abbey
Procession through LondonFollowing the roughly one-hour service, the coffin will be conveyed from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch -- again with the King leading some of the family on foot, while Camilla, the Queen Consort and others follow by car.
WhitehallThe route -- lined by the Armed Forces -- will pass Parliament Square and go onto Whitehall, the street that cuts through London’s government district.
It will pass the Cenotaph, the site of the annual National Service of Remembrance, which the Queen personally attended most years, and Downing Street.
Click below for a 360 view of Whitehall by Downing Street
Horse Guards ParadeThe procession moves through Horse Guards Parade, the setting for the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony held to mark the monarch’s official birthday. Here, the King’s Life Guard will turn out and give a royal salute as the coffin passes.
The MallOn The Mall, the royal procession will pass by royal residences Clarence House and St James's Palace.
Click below for a 360 view of The Mall
Buckingham PalaceAs the coffin moves past Queen Victoria Memorial for the last time, the King’s Guard will turn out in the forecourt and give a royal salute.
Click below for a 360 view of The State Rooms in Buckingham Palace
Wellington ArchThe procession is expected at Wellington Arch around 1 p.m. (8 a.m. ET), where the bearer party will transfer it from the State Gun Carriage to the state hearse for the journey to Windsor.
WindsorThe Queen’s coffin will be driven to Windsor, around 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of the capital. Windsor Castle is where the Queen lived for the last two years of her life.
The Long WalkOnce in Windsor, the state hearse will be driven just after 3 p.m. (10 a.m. ET) along The Long Walk, a picturesque avenue leading to the castle where thousands will be waiting to bid the Queen farewell as she passes.
Windsor CastleThe King and other royals will join the procession on foot as it passes through the castle’s quadrangle at around 3:40 p.m. (10:40 a.m. ET).
Minute guns will be fired by the King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery from the East Lawn throughout the royal cortege.
Click below for a 360 view inside the grounds of Windsor Castle
St George’s ChapelThe Queen’s coffin will be greeted by an honor guard founded by the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards mounted in Horseshoe Cloister at the foot of the West Steps of St. George’s Chapel.
Soldiers from the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment will line the steps as the bearer party carries the coffin inside for the committal service.
A more intimate committal service will take place at St. George’s Chapel at about 4 p.m. (11 a.m. ET), conducted by the Dean of Windsor. The royal family will gather there along with a congregation made up of members of the Royal Household, past and present, as well as personal staff who have worked on the private estates.
St. George’s should be a familiar location to many as it is where Prince Philip's funeral service was held last April, as well as more jubilant occasions like the nuptials of the Queen's grandchildren.
At the service's conclusion, the Queen's coffin will be lowered into the Royal Vault, set below the chapel, where many royal family members have been laid to rest.
The service concludes the public arrangements for the late monarch, however, a private burial service will be held for the family later Monday evening. The Queen is to be buried with her late husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, in the King George VI Memorial Chapel, located elsewhere within St. George's.
The memorial chapel is where the Queen's father and mother were interred. A casket containing the ashes of the Queen's sister, Princess Margaret, is also there.
The Earl Marshal, the Duke of Norfolk, said last week that orchestrating the event was "both humbling and daunting.” He added that Monday’s event aimed to "unite people across the globe" and "pay a fitting tribute to an extraordinary reign.”
