Two minutes of silence will be observed across the United Kingdom at the end of Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey on Monday giving the public across the nation a chance to pay their respects to the late monarch.
Buckingham Palace has released details Thursday of the state funeral and a ceremony at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor ahead of her private interment later Monday.
After the funeral the coffin will be transported through the historic heart of London on a horse–drawn gun carriage before being driven by the state hearse to Windsor, where the queen will be interred alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, who died last year in a private ceremony
Two thousand people including world leaders and foreign royals will gather inside Westminster Abbey in London on Monday for the final farewell to the nation’s longest-reigning monarch.
Some 800 people, including members of the Queen’s Household and Windsor estate staff, will attend the committal service afterwards at 4pm in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle
The King and members of the royal family will walk behind the Queen’s coffin to Wellington Arch when it leaves Westminster Abbey on Monday after the funeral
National Health Service staff will be given the honour of walking in front of Queen Elizabeth’s coffin as it begins its journey to Windsor after her funeral on Monday.
Doctors and nurses will form part of the procession as the coffin is taken on a gun carriage from Westminster Abbey to the Wellington Arch, in recognition of their work during the pandemic and beyond.
The Duke of Norfolk, who is in overall charge of ceremonial arrangements including the Queen’s funeral, said: “The respect, admiration and affection in which the Queen was held, make our task both humbling and daunting. An honour and a great responsibility”
He added :
“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”
