King Charles leads royal procession at Windsor ahead of Queen’s burial

The monarch was accompanied by his three siblings and two sons

King Charles III led the procession ahead of a committal ceremony for the burial of Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle.

The new monarch stood with his siblings and children as his late mother’s coffin was carried by a hearse into the castle’s grounds at 4pm.

Flowers that were thrown by members of the public were strewn across the state hearse, which had been driven from Westminster Abbey to Windsor ahead of a private burial scheduled for later in the evening.

The King, Princess Royal, Duke of York, Earl of Wessex, Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex were among those meeting the funeral procession at the castle’s Quadrangle.

The Queen’s two corgis Sandy and Muick and one of her favourite horses, Emma were also brought to the castle’s grounds for when the hearse drove by to the chapel.

Minute Guns were fired by the King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, from a position on the East Lawn as the coffin headed in the direction of the West Steps of St George’s Chapel.

The castle’s Sebastopol and Curfew Tower bells tolled as the hearse continued its journey.

The Queen’s coffin was carried by pallbearers up the chapel stairs for the ceremony. The King, his sons, and his siblings followed it into the chapel.

The King, the Princess Royal, the Duke of York, the Earl of Wessex, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex (Reuters)

The pallbearers, who also carried the coffin into Westminster Abbey for the state funeral service earlier in the day, placed the coffin at the front of the chapel and left the hall.

By the time the pallbearers left, the royals – joined by the Queen Consort, Princess of Wales, the Duchess of Sussex, Prince George and Princess Charlotte – took their seats for the start of the ceremony.

The Queen’s coffin being carried up the chapel’s stairs (Sky)

The King sat in the same seat the Queen had sat in – alone – for the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral during the Covid-19 pandemic, while Prince William where his father sat for the funeral in April 2021.

He appeared emotional as those in attendance at St George’s Chapel sang the national anthem, having earlier been close to tears during the state funeral service at Westminster.

The Archbishop of Canterbury said the Queen had touched “a multitude of lives” and been a “joyful” figure for many.

Mourners singing hymns at St George’s Chapel (Reuters)

Inside the abbey, a floral display placed on top of the Queen’s coffin alongside the Imperial State Crown, and the orb and sceptre, had a handwritten note from the King that read: “In devoted and loving memory. Charles R”.

He had requested the floral tribute, which replaced a wreath of Balmoral flowers, of blooms cut from the gardens of Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Highgrove.

Flowers and tributes left in Green Park, near Buckingham Palace (AFP via Getty Images)

Mourners filled the streets of London to cheer, applaud and throw flowers in the path of the hearse following the funeral that was attended by more than 2,000 world leaders and royals.

Tens of thousands of people watched the ceremonial procession from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch, where the coffin was transferred from a gun carriage to a hearse for its final journey to Windsor.

Like on the streets of London, the Long Walk in Windsor was filled with flowers and mourners paying their respects to the Queen.