Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin has been lowered into the royal vault of St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, ending the public funeral of a monarch whose 70-year reign defined an age. King Charles III laid the colors of the Grenadier Guards at The Queen’s Coffin, and appeared teary-eyed as the hours-long service ended.
The Lord Chamberlain broke his wand of office and placed it in the coffin before lowering it into the vault.
King Charles III watches his mother’s coffin as it is carried from Westminster Abbey. (AP) Bearers slowly and steadily climbed the stairs with the coffin, the crown, orb and scepter resting on the lid. (AP)
Moments earlier, the Crown Jeweler removed the Imperial State Crown, Orb and Scepter from their place on the Queen’s coffin and handed them to the Dean of Windsor.
It was a symbolic moment when the Queen parted with the Crown Jewels, ending the 70 years of service she pledged as a young princess.
Finally, the items will be returned to the Tower of London.
The Queen was then taken to the King George VI Memorial Chapel for a private burial, buried alongside her late husband Prince Philip.
The end of the engagement service marks the final public act of mourning for the Queen. (AP) King Charles II, left, looks on as Lord Chamberlain Baron Parker breaks his baton, marking the end of his service to the sovereign, during a service of engagement for Queen Elizabeth II of Great Brittany at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. (Joe Giddens/Pool Photo via AP) (AP)
The day’s events began at sunrise when the doors of Parliament’s 900-year-old Westminster Hall were closed to mourners after hundreds of thousands filed past the Queen’s coffin.
Monday was declared a bank holiday in honor of Elizabeth, who died on September 8, and hundreds of thousands of people descended on central London to take part in the historic moment.
They jammed the pavements to watch the coffin roll through the streets of the capital after the service.
As the procession passed Buckingham Palace, the Queen’s official residence in the city, staff stood outside, some bowing and bowing.
The Ceremonial Procession of Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin travels down the Long Walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the engagement service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. (AP)
Royals, world leaders attend Queen’s farewell
State funeral at Westminster Abbey
The Queen’s coffin was taken from Westminster Hall across the road to Westminster Abbey in a royal carriage pulled by 142 sailors from the Royal Navy.
The same carriage was used to transport the coffins of the late Kings Edward VII, George V and George VI, and Winston Churchill.
The Queen’s coffin lay in the center of the abbey after being carried by pallbearers and accompanied by her son King Charles III and other members of the royal family.
They include Prince William, his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, and their two eldest children George, 9, and Charlotte, 7.
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, also walked behind the coffin.
King Charles III putting the colors on his mother’s coffin at the end of the handing over ceremony in the chapel of Sant Jordi. (AP) Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, stand behind King Charles, Camilla, the Queen Consort, Princess Anne and Princess Beatrice at Wellington Arch in central London. (AP)
William and Catherine’s youngest son, Louis, was not in attendance.
The Dean of Westminster David Hoyle opened the service in the old abbey, where Elizabeth was married and crowned.
“We gather from across the nation, the Commonwealth, and the nations of the world, to mourn our loss, to remember her long life of selfless service, and with sure confidence to commit her to God’s mercy, our creator and redeemer.” He said.
The new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Liz Truss, gave the second reading, a passage from John 14:1–9.
Catherine, Princess of Wales, Princess Charlotte, Prince George, Camilla, the Queen Consort, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Princess Beatrice follow the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II as it leaves Westminster Abbey. (AP) Prince Harry, Princess Charlotte, Catherine Princess of Wales, Prince George and Prince William sit at St George’s Chapel in Windsor. (Victoria Jones/Pool photo via AP)
The opening hymn at the funeral was The Day You Gave, Lord, Is Done. The hymn was written in 1870 by Reverend John Ellerton.
It was also sung at Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 1897 and remains a popular church hymn in Britain.
The second hymn, The Lord’s My Shepherd, was sung at their wedding in 1947.
The third hymn Love divine, all excellent loves, is written by Charles Wesley, perhaps the most significant hymn writer in English history.
The song was also performed at William and Catherine’s wedding in 2011.
Most senior royals wore military uniforms to the funeral, including King Charles, Prince Edward, Princess Anne and Prince William.
The day the world stood still: the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II
Prince Andrew and Prince Harry wore civilian clothes.
The coffin was carried by 10 pallbearers who were all former knights, or attendants of the royal household.
US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese were among the prominent foreign attendees, along with former British prime ministers Boris Johnson, David Cameron, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Theresa May.
Princesses Eugenia and Beatrice arrived with their mother, Duchess Sarah. Zara Tindall and her husband Mike Tindall also attended.
Princess Charlotte of Wales, Prince George of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales and Camilla, Queen Consort are seen on the Mall ahead of Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral. (Getty) Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin is placed in a carriage during her funeral. (AP)
The queue to see the Queen lie in state at Westminster Hall, where she has lain since September 14, was closed to mourners many hours before the funeral.
Many people had spent cold nights outside to pay their respects around the Queen’s flag-draped coffin in an emotional outpouring of national grief and respect.
The closing of the hall marked the end of more than four days of the coffin lying in state and the start of the UK’s first state funeral since the one held in 1965 for Churchill, the first of 15 prime ministers during the reign of Isabel.
Two days before her death on September 8 at her summer retreat at Balmoral, the Queen appointed her last prime minister, Truss.
Crowds line the streets of London ahead of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. (Supplied) Tens of thousands are expected to gather outside to pay their last respects to the fallen monarch. (Getty)
The last member of the public to see Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin as it lay in state at the Houses of Parliament was Chrissy Heerey, a serving member of the Royal Air Force from Melton Mowbray.
“It felt like a real privilege to do that,” Heerey said.
He said on Monday he went through Westminster Hall twice – the first time in the early hours of the morning and then again just before its doors closed to mourners at 6.30am.
How the last 10 days of mourning have gone
He said the experience was “one of the highlights of my life and I feel very privileged to be here.”
Monday was declared a public holiday in the UK in honor of Elizabeth, who died aged 96.
Tens of thousands of mourners are lining the streets of London and beyond to catch a glimpse of history. (AP) Police officers take positions before the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. (AP) Guests arrive at Westminster Abbey. (AP)
Final procession through London
After the state funeral, members of the royal family marched behind the Queen’s coffin for a procession to Wellington Arch, where the coffin was transferred to a hearse.
Scouts carried the monarch’s coffin the 32 kilometers to Windsor Castle.
A dense crowd lined the route through the heart of ceremonial London, and thousands more lined the more everyday suburban roads to see the hearse.
When the hearse arrived in Windsor, floral tributes thrown from the sides of the roads covered its windscreen.
Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral procession by the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy travels down The Mall in London. (AP)
Thousands of people lined both sides of the Long Walk in front of Windsor Castle as a military procession escorted the coffin to St George’s Chapel for a second, smaller service.
Silence fell among the sea of mourners as the sound of the drummers grew louder, and many in the back of the crowd raised their phones in the air to try to see the scene.
– With Associated Press