What happens next? Day by day after the death of the Queen

The King and Queen Consort are expected to travel to Wales on Friday while the lying in state continues, accessible to the public 24 hours a day.

The King and Queen Consort are expected to travel to Wales while the lying in state continues, accessible to the public 24 hours a day (Victoria Jones/PA) (PA Wire)

Here is a day-by-day account of what will happen, leading up to and including the Queen’s funeral on September 19.

– September 16:

The King and Queen Consort are expected to travel to Wales while the lying in state continues, accessible to the public 24 hours a day.

The couple will attend a service of prayer and reflection at Llandaff Cathedral, before receiving condolences at the Welsh Parliament and meeting members of the Senedd.

They will then travel to Cardiff Castle where Charles will hold a private audience with Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford and the presiding officer, before attending a reception hosted by the Welsh Government.

A protest against the monarchy is expected to take place outside the castle.

On his return to Buckingham Palace, the King will host faith leaders in the Bow Room.

The Prince and Princess of Wales will visit Army Training Centre Pirbright, in Surrey, to meet with troops from the Commonwealth who have been deployed to the UK to take part in the state funeral of Her Majesty The Queen.

The Vigil of the Princes takes place at Westminster Hall, carried out by Queen’s four children (King, Princess Royal, Duke of York and Earl of Wessex).

– September 17:

The lying in state continues, with representatives from the Commonwealth realms invited to pay their respects.

The King will meet the Chiefs of Staff at Buckingham Palace before visiting police headquarters where he will thank representatives from all the emergency services involved in the planning and delivery of the events during this period.

The King and Queen Consort will attend a lunch for governors general, and then the King will meet Realm prime ministers at Buckingham Palace.

The Prince of Wales, Duke of Sussex and cousins Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall are expected to mount a vigil around the Queen’s coffin.

– September 18:

The lying in state continues and heads of state will begin to arrive for the funeral.

The King and Queen Consort will host heads of state and official overseas guests at the palace in what the King’s spokesman described as an “official state event”.

Members of the public are invited to observe a one-minute silence at 8pm to remember the Queen.

– September 19:

There will be a national bank holiday to allow as many people as possible to watch the Queen’s funeral.

Lying in state will continue until 6.30am.

The coffin will be taken in a grand military procession from the Palace of Westminster to Westminster Abbey for the state funeral at 11am.

Senior members of the family are expected to follow behind – just like they did for the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh.

The military will line the streets and also join the procession.

Heads of state, prime ministers and presidents, European royals and key figures from public life will be invited to gather in the abbey, which can hold a congregation of 2,000.

The service will be televised, and a national two minutes’ silence will follow the Last Post being sounded at 11.55am.

Reveille, the national anthem and a lament, played by the Queen’s Piper, will bring the state funeral service to an end at approximately noon.

After the service, the coffin will be taken in procession from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch and then travel to Windsor.

Once there, the hearse will travel in procession to St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle via the Long Walk, after which a televised committal service will take place in St George’s Chapel.

Later in the evening, there will be a private interment service with senior members of the royal family.

The Queen’s final resting place will be the King George VI memorial chapel, an annex to the main chapel – where her mother and father were buried, along with the ashes of her sister, Princess Margaret.

Philip’s coffin will move from the Royal Vault to the memorial chapel to join the Queen’s.