The procession of Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin, led by royal family members including King Charles III, has begun at Westminster Abbey.
The British capital London is hosting the largest funeral ceremony in decades as the queen is laid to rest on Monday, 10 days after her death in Scotland’s Balmoral estate.
A short procession carried the coffin from Westminster Hall in the Palace of Westminster to Westminster Abbey, where the service will be held after Charles and Queen Consort Camilla arrive.
Other royal family members, as well as around 100 heads of state, including US President Joe Biden, as well as more than 20 royals and many representatives from 200 countries, will attend the service.
At the conclusion of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby’s sermon, a two-minute silence will be observed in the abbey and across the UK.
Following the service, a massive procession will transport the coffin from the abbey to the Wellington Arch in Hyde Park Corner, passing through Parliament Square, White Hall, Horse Guard Road, The Mall, and Green Park.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend the state funeral, which will be broadcast live on television and on large screens installed in Hyde Park.
There will be unprecedented security measures in and around Parliament, Westminster Abbey, procession routes, and other roads leading to central London.
Windsor
The queen’s coffin will be driven to Windsor ahead of a new procession beginning at 3 p.m. BST (1400GMT).
The procession will end at Windsor Castle, where the royal family will follow the coffin to St. George’s Chapel. 800 people will attend a service in the chapel.
At 7.30 p.m. (1830 GMT), Queen Elizabeth II will be laid to rest next to her late husband, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Phillip, in the King George VI Memorial Chapel, with a private service attended by the king and other members of the family.
The queen, the UK’s longest-serving monarch, died on Thursday, September 8, at the age of 96.