Plan, route, timings and everything you need to know about Queen’s funeral

State funeral at Westminster Abbey today is likely to be one of biggest single events staged in Britain since Second World War

The Queen is to be reunited with her husband the Duke of Edinburgh today as she is laid to rest in a historic state funeral.

Crowds of mourners are expected to flock to London, Windsor and royal sites throughout the UK, with the service set to draw millions of TV viewers across the globe.

Details of Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral were revealed last week ahead of the service starting at 11am, including personal touches requested by the late monarch herself.

It will be the first state funeral in the UK since Winston Churchill’s in 1965, an elaborate ceremony that will see the Queen transported from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey and finally to Windsor Castle.

The bearer party carries the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II into Westminster Hall (PA Wire)

Below are the details of the funeral in full and a timeline of key events in the run-up to the Queen’s burial.

Lying-in-state ends

The Queen’s lying in state will end on Monday morning (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The lying-in-state began on Thursday evening, with huge queues of mourners snaking along the River Thames with waits of up to 24 hours.

Mourners had until 6.30am on Monday to reach the coffin, when the Queen’s lying-in-state came to an end.

The doors then closed in preparation for the procession to Westminster Abbey where the State Funeral service will take place.

Route of coffin and best viewing points

(Department of Culture, Media and Sport)

At 10.35am on Monday the coffin will be lifted from the catafalque where it has stood in Westminster Hall by pall-bearers of the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, of which the Queen was company commander.

It will be draped with the Royal Standard and carrying the imperial state crown, orb and sceptre.

Her Majesty will then be moved from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey at 10.44am on Monday for the funeral service.

The route to Westminster Abbey, which will be lined by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, will go from Parliament Square to Broad Sanctuary and the Sanctuary.

Royal procession to Westminster Abbey

King Charles will again lead a procession behind his mother’s coffin (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

The King will lead the procession to Westminster Abbey which will be made up of 200 musicians from the massed Pipes and Drums of Scottish and Irish Regiments, the Brigade of Gurkhas, and the Royal Air Force, with the Princess Royal, Duke of York and Earl of Wessex.

Behind the quartet will be the Queen’s grandsons Peter Phillips, the Duke of Sussex and the Prince of Wales.

They will be followed by the late monarch’s son-in-law Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke of Gloucester, the Queen’s cousin, and her nephew the Earl of Snowdon.

The Queen’s coffin will be carried on the State Gun Carriage, a 123-year-old apparatus towed by 98 Royal Navy sailors in a tradition dating back to the funeral of Queen Victoria.

The Procession will arrive at the West Gate of Westminster Abbey at 10.52am where pall bearers will lift the coffin from the carriage and carry it into Westminster Abbey to begin the service.

Westminster Abbey Service

Nearly 200 key workers and volunteers have been invited to the Queen’s funeral at Westminster Abbey (Steve Parsons/PA) (PA Wire)

Doors will open at 8am to allow guests - among them US president Joe Biden and French president Emmanuel Macron - to take their seats.

Heads of state and overseas government representatives, including foreign royal families, governors-general and realm prime ministers will gather initially at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea and travel under “collective arrangements” to Westminster Abbey.

Other representatives of the realms and the Commonwealth, the Orders of Chivalry including recipients of the Victoria Cross and George Cross, government, parliament, devolved parliaments and assemblies, the Church, and Her Majesty’s patronages will form the congregation, along with further representatives from law, emergency services, public servants and professions, and public representatives, totalling 2,000 people.

Thousands of people are expected to line the route (PA Wire)

Members of the British royal family who are not part of the procession from Westminster Hall will have arrived at the abbey and been escorted to their seats in the South Lantern.

At 11am, the State Funeral service will begin led by the Dean of Westminster. Prime minister Liz Truss and the secretary-general of the Commonwealth are both expected to give readings at the service.

Towards the end of the service at approximately 11.55am, the Last Post will sound followed by a two minutes’ silence and the National Anthem to finish around 12 noon.

Procession to Hyde Park and heading to Windsor

The Queen’s coffin will be take from Westminster to Hyde Park after the service

Following the state funeral, the coffin will be followed by the King, the Queen Consort, the Prince and Princess of Wales and members of the royal family who will walk in the procession to Wellington Arch where it will be driven to Windsor on the state hearse.

The route to Wellington Arch will be lined by Armed Forces from Westminster Abbey to the top of Constitution Hill in addition to minute guns fired in Hyde Park.

The procession will set off for Wellington Arch with the route lined by the Armed Forces from Westminster Abbey to the top of Constitution Hill at the Commonwealth Memorial Gates.

The King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery will witness the departure of the coffin to Windsor.

Committal service at Windsor Castle

The George VI Memorial Chapel in St George's Chapel, Windsor (PA)

A committal service will take place at St George's Chapel, Windsor, Castle at 4pm on Monday.

At 7.30pm the Queen will be buried in King George VI's chapel in Windsor Castle in a private service.

The Queen's final resting place will be St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle alongside her husband of 70 years, the Duke of Edinburgh, in the King George VI Memorial Chapel.

Philip is currently in the Royal Vault but will be moved to be with his wife.

FULL TIMELINE OF EVENTS ON MONDAY

6.30am: Queen's lying-in-state ends marking the public’s last opportunity to pay respects to the late monarchy. Preparations for the Westminster Abbey service begins.

8am: The doors of Westminster Abbey will be opened for the congregation to begin taking their seats.

10.35am: The coffin will be moved from Westminster Hall to the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy.

10.44am: The gun carriage will set off and will be drawn by Royal Naval officers followed by the King, members of the Royal Family, members of the King’s household and household of the Prince of Wales.

11am: The State Funeral will begin, conducted by Dean of Westminster.

11.55am: The Last Post will sound, followed by a two-minutes' silence throughout the United Kingdom ending with the National Anthem.

Noon: The service will end and the coffin will be followed by the King, the Queen Consort, the Prince and Princess of Wales and members of the Royal Family who are to walk in the Procession to Wellington Arch

12.15pm: The procession will set off for Wellington Arch with the route lined by the Armed Forces from Westminster Abbey to the top of Constitution Hill at the Commonwealth Memorial Gates. The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery will witness the departure of the Coffin to Windsor.

3.06pm: The State Hearse will approach Shaw Farm Gate on Albert Road, Windsor

3.10pm: The Procession will step off.

3.20pm: Governors-General and Realm Prime Ministers will arrive at the West Door, St. George’s Chapel and will be escorted to their seats in the Nave.

3.25pm: Members of the Royal Family not walk in the outdoor procession that will arrive at the chapel.

3.40pm: The King and those in the Procession join as it passes into Engine Court. As before, the Queen Consort with the Princess of Wales, and the Duchess of Sussex with the Countess of Wessex will follow by car.

3:53 pm: The bearer party will lift the Coffin from the State Hearse, from where it will be carried in procession up the West Steps.

4pm: The Committal Service will begin. At the conclusion, the King and the Royal Family will depart from the Galilee Porch for Windsor Castle.

7.30pm: A private burial service will be conducted by the Dean of Windsor, attended by the King and members of the Royal Family. Her Majesty is to be buried together with her late husband, The Duke of Edinburgh, at the King George VI Memorial Chapel.