The deceased Queen Elizabeth II will be buried at London’s Westminster Abbey on September 19 at 11 a.m. London time, Buckingham Palace confirmed Saturday.
The monarch died on September 8 after 70 years on the throne.
Already, the British government has declared a period of national mourning that extends until the end of that day, and the new king signed an order Saturday declaring it a national holiday.
King Charles III, the queen’s eldest son, who has now ascended to the throne, will go on a tour of the United Kingdom, probably starting in Scotland, ahead of the funeral.
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According to The Washington Post, the queen’s last ceremonial journey will take her from Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where she died, to her resting place in Windsor. There will be many stops on the way, according to plans announced by royal officials Saturday.
From Balmoral Castle, a sprawling royal estate in the Scottish highlands, her oak coffin is to travel to the 16th-century Holyrood Palace in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, on Sunday. The next day, it will move in a procession to St. Giles’ Cathedral, where some members of the public will be able to view the coffin until Tuesday.
Her body will then be flown to London via Royal Air Force. With a military parade and royal family members, a procession is scheduled from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, where she will lie in state for days. The public will be able to visit as she lies on a raised platform known as a catafalque.
After the funeral, the coffin will go to Windsor Castle, just outside of London, and she will be buried next to her husband, Prince Philip, at St. George’s Chapel.
The programme will begin with the royal navy transporting the coffin in a procession from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey — where the queen’s coronation took place in 1953, as well as her wedding in 1947.
No state funeral has been held at Westminster Abbey for a monarch since the 18th century, the BBC reports, although the funeral of the queen’s mother was held there in 2002.
After the ceremony, a third London procession will take the queen down the Mall, ending at Hyde Park Corner.
Heads of state and government from around the world will fly to London to join the royal family for the funeral. British politicians and former prime ministers will attend, as will members of royal families from other European countries.
President Biden confirmed on Friday that he plans to be there. “I don’t know what the details are yet, but I’ll be going,” he told reporters after speaking at an event in Ohio.
The queen’s death is likely to prompt a surge in travel to Britain. Crowds already gathered this week to place flowers in front of Buckingham Palace. The palace, as well as other royal residences, such as Windsor Castle, will remain closed until after the funeral, while the processions in London will be open to the public.
Authorities are preparing for the prospect of hundreds of thousands of people paying their respects in person when the queen lies in state at Westminster Hall. According to the British Parliament, about 200,000 people visited when the Queen Mother lay in state in Westminster Hall in 2002.
