Queen Elizabeth's Funeral: What to Expect and How to Watch
Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral will be held Sept 19 at 11 a.m. BST (6 a.m. EST) at Westminster Abbey before she is interred at King George VI Memorial Chapel in Windsor Castle
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Queen Elizabeth’s final resting place has been revealed. After 70 years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday in Scotland at age 96. Following the Queen’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey, there will be a graveside service at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
On Monday, Sept. 19, the queen's coffin will be taken from Westminster Hall to nearby Westminster Abbey in London for a state funeral that begins at 11 a.m. BST / 6 a.m. EST.
Officials said the funeral will be the biggest international event Britain has hosted in decades.
Millions of people around the world are expected to tune in to watch Queen Elizabeth's funeral service, which will be broadcast across major television networks and streamed online.
NBC News will carry special coverage of the funeral.
Where will she lie in state and for how long?
The queen's coffin was transported from Buckingham Palace to Parliament on a gun carriage, with the king and other royals walking behind.
It has been placed in Parliament's medieval Westminster Hall, where the archbishop of Canterbury conducted a short service.
The queen will lie in state for four days, until the morning of her funeral. Members of the public will be able to pay their respects and troops will keep a round-the-clock vigil.
Tens of thousands were standing in a line Thursday that snaked for more than four miles along the River Thames in London, waiting to file in silence past her coffin.
On Friday evening, King Charles III and his siblings will stand vigil at their mother’s coffin for 15 minutes as it lies in state.
Who’s expected to attend the funeral?
British officials say some 500 foreign dignitaries will attend Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral, but invitations have not been sent to the leaders of Russia, Belarus or Myanmar.
U.S. President Joe Biden was among the first to announce that he would be flying in with his wife, Jill Biden.
France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Italy’s Sergio Mattarella, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro are among the presidents attending.
Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, as well as former Spanish monarch Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia, are also due to travel to London for the occasion.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday his official delegation to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral next week will include racehorse trainer Chris Waller and wheelchair tennis star Dylan Alcott.
Waller and Alcott are among 10 “everyday Australians” who will represent Australia at Monday’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey in London, Albanese said.
“It was a request from the palace that 10 everyday citizens who make contributions to the local communities be invited to the queen’s funeral,” Albanese told reporters in Canberra.
At least one Pacific neighbor leader, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape, has accepted Australia’s offer of help to get to the funeral.
Also among the 2,000 funeral guests will be nearly 200 people honored by the late queen for their work responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and in sectors including charities, healthcare and education.
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From left: David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon, Prince William, Prince of Wales, King Charles III, Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, Anne, Princess Royal and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex walk behind the coffin during the procession for the Lying-in State of Queen Elizabeth II, Sept. 14, 2022, in London
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King Charles III, Prince William, Prince of Wales and Princess Anne, Princess Royal salute the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, adorned with a Royal Standard and the Imperial State Crown, as it arrives at the Palace of Westminster, Sept. 14, 2022, in London. Next to them is Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Prince Andrew, Duke of York.
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Members of the public line the Queen Victoria Memorial and the Mall as King Charles III and members of the royal family walk with Queen Elizabeth II’s flag-draped coffin as it is taken in procession by The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, Sept. 14, 2022 in London.
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The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard with the Imperial State Crown placed on top, is carried on a horse-drawn gun carriage of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, during the ceremonial procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, London, Sept. 14, 2022.
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Pallbearers from The Queen’s Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards prepare to carry the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II into Westminster Hall on Sept. 14, 2022 in London.
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King Charles III, Anne, Princess Royal, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, Prince William, Prince of Wales, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Camilla, Queen Consort, Sir Timothy Laurence, Mr. Peter Phillips, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, Catherine, Princess of Wales, Princess Beatrice and Prince Edward, Duke of Kent seen inside the Palace of Westminster for the Lying-in State of Queen Elizabeth II, Sept. 14, 2022 in London.
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Pallbearers from The Queen’s Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, prepare to place the coffin of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II on a catafalque inside Westminster Hall, at the Palace of Westminster, Sept. 14, 2022, London.
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Catherine, Princess of Wales and Prince William, Prince of Wales leave after a service for the reception of Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin at Westminster Hall, Sept. 14, 2022, London.
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The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II arrives in the Royal Hearse at Buckingham Palace in London on September 13, 2022, where it will rest in the Palace’s Bow Room overnight.
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Seen from the top of the Wellington Arch, the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is taken in the Royal Hearse to Buckingham Palace in London on September 13, 2022.
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The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II leaves RAF Northolt, west London, from where it will be taken to Buckingham Palace, London, to lie at rest overnight in the Bow Room on September 13, 2022 in London, England.
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Sophie, Countess of Wessex, Edward, Earl of Wessex, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence, Camilla, Queen Consort, Princess Anne, Princess Royal and King Charles III attend a Service of Prayer and Reflection for the Life of Queen Elizabeth II at St Giles’ Cathedral, Sept. 12, 2022 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
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From left, Prince Andrew, King Charles III, Camilla, the Queen Consort, Princess Anne and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, look on as the Duke of Hamilton places the Crown of Scotland on the coffin during the Service of Prayer and Reflection for the Life of Queen Elizabeth II at St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh, Sept. 12, 2022.
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Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence, King Charles III, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Prince Andrew, Duke of York and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, stand as the hearse carrying the coffin of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II arrives at St. Giles’ Cathedral after the procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Sept. 12, 2022, in Edinburgh, Scotland.
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King Charles III, Princess Anne, Princess Royal and Prince Andrew, Duke of York, walk behind the procession of Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin, from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles Cathedral, on the Royal Mile, Sept. 12, 2022, where Queen Elizabeth II will lie at rest. Mourners will get the first opportunity to pay respects before the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II as it lies in an Edinburgh cathedral where King Charles III will preside over a vigil.
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King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort, sits in Westminster Hall Sept. 12, 2022, in London, England, to listen to an address to His Majesty in Westminster Hall following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
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Lord Speaker John McFall, left, and Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle, right, as well as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort, take part in an address in Westminster Hall Sept. 12, 2022, in London, England. The Lord Speaker and the Speaker of the House of Commons presented an Address to His Majesty on behalf of their respective House in Westminster Hall following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
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King Charles III inspects the Guard of Honor as he arrives for the Ceremony of the Keys at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Sept. 12, 2022, in Edinburgh, Scotland. The monarch is handed the keys of the city of Edinburgh and welcomed to “your ancient and hereditary kingdom of Scotland” in this ancient ritual. The King then returns them to Edinburgh’s elected officials for safekeeping.
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A corgi lies in front of the flowers at The Long Walk gates in front of Windsor Castle, Sept. 12, 2022, in Windsor, England.
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Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence, Britain’s Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Britain’s Prince Andrew, Duke of York look on as Britain’s Princess Anne, Princess Royal, curtseys before the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, Sept. 11, 2022, in Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
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People gather on the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, Scotland, to watch the cortege carrying the coffin of the late Queen Elizabeth II, draped with the Royal Standard of Scotland, as it completes its journey from Balmoral to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Sept. 11, 2022.
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King Charles III speaks during the Accession Council at St James’s Palace, London, Sept. 10, 2022, shortly after he was formally proclaimed monarch.
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King Charles III with the Prince of Wales, the Queen Consort and Lord President of the Council Penny Mordaunt during the Accession Council at St James’s Palace, London, Sept. 10, 2022. King Charles III was formally proclaimed monarch after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
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Members of the Coldstream guards line up ahead of the watching public as the Principal Proclamation is read from the balcony overlooking Friary Court after King Charles III is proclaimed King, at St James’s Palace in London, England, Sept. 10, 2022.
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A 21-gun salute by the 105 Regiment Royal Artillery at Hillsborough Castle, Belfast, marks the Proclamation of Accession of King Charles III, Sept. 10, 2022.
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Former British Prime Ministers David Cameron, Boris Johnson, Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, Theresa May and John Major, joined by Baroness Scotland, arrive for a meeting of the Accession Council inside St James’s Palace in London, Sept. 10, 2022, to proclaim King Charles III as the new King.
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The car carrying King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort, arrives at Buckingham Palace with the Union Flag at half mast, Sept. 9, 2022, in London.
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Britain’s King Charles III, left, and Camilla, the Queen Consort, look at floral tributes left outside Buckingham Palace on Sept. 9, 2022, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, in London. King Charles III, who spent much of his 73 years preparing for the role, planned to meet with the prime minister and address a nation grieving the only British monarch most of the world had known.
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The Death Gun Salute is fired at the Tower of London by the Honourable Artillery Company, British Army, to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II, in London on Sept. 9, 2022. Ninety-six rounds were fired for each year of the Queen’s life.
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The lights of the Eiffel tower are turned off in memory of Queen Elizabeth II, Sept. 8, 2022 in Paris, France.
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A photo of Queen Elizabeth II is projected onto the sails of the Sydney Opera House, Sept. 9, 2022, in Sydney, Australia.
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European flags fly at half-mast during a meeting of EU energy ministers at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Sept. 9, 2022, a day after the death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.
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A rainbow is seen outside of Buckingham Palace on Sept. 8, 2022, in London, England. Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-serving monarch, has died at 96 following months of health concerns.
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The official Royal announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II is placed on the gates of Buckingham Palace on Sept. 8, 2022, in London, England.
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Mourners lay flowers on the gate of Buckingham Palace in London after it was announced that Queen Elizabeth II has died, Sept. 8, 2022.
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The Union flag flies half mast as people gather at Buckingham Palace on Sept. 8, 2022 in London, England following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
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Mourners gather laying flowers outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire following the announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Picture date: Thursday September 8, 2022.
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A man lowers the White House U.S. flag to half-mast in Washington, D.C, Sept. 8, 2022, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
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A Nasdaq billboard pay tribute to the life and legacy of Queen Elizabeth II in Times Square on Sept. 8, 2022 in New York, New York.
Where will Queen Elizabeth be buried?
Following the State Funeral in London, the queen's coffin will then be driven in the state hearse to Windsor for a committal service at St. George's Chapel near Windsor Castle, attended by 800 people, including members of the queen's household and Windsor estate staff.
At the end of the service, the coffin will be lowered into the Royal Vault and the sovereign’s piper will play a lament. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will pronounce the blessing and the congregation will sing “God Save The King.”
Members of the royal family will then hold a private burial service at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, where the queen will be interred with her late husband, Prince Philip, who died last year at 99.
