Today is the final farewell to Queen Elizabeth II. A grand ceremony will be organized on this occasion.
First the coffin will travel to Westminster Abbey for a religious service and then to Windsor Castle for a private burial. Today is expected to be a day of excitement and pomp. Authorities from all over the world have traveled to England to attend the ceremony.
Schedules of the ceremony:
6:30 BST – The window for the public to see Elizabeth II lying in state ends as the doors to Westminster Hall are closed
8:00am – The doors of Westminster Abbey open to the 2,000 expected guests – from world leaders to charity workers and the Japanese emperor
10:44 – The first cortege of the day will depart, with King Charles and other royals walking behind the Queen's coffin as it is pulled by sailors in the state armory from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey
11:00 a.m. – The state funeral service begins
11.55am – The last pitch sounds, followed by a two-minute national silence
12:00 – The service ends and at 12:15 a second, larger procession brings her coffin to Wellington Arch
13:00 – Her coffin is transferred to the state hearse and sent to the funeral home along a route that is expected to come from the crowd.
15:00 – The third procession of the day begins, through the grounds of Windsor Castle to St George's Chapel
4:00 p.m. – The dedication service takes place in the chapel of Saint George
7.30pm – The royal family return to the church for a private funeral service which will see Elizabeth II laid to rest alongside her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.
For TV networks and viewers, today will be a spectacle of pharaonic proportions, likely to surpass previous viral royal events such as Prince Philip's funeral in 2021, Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton in 2011, the wedding party of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018 or the funeral of Princess Diana in September 1997.