How to get to the best viewing spots for the Queen’s funeral procession

The public will be able to view the procession along streets in and around St James’s Park

Millions of people are expected to travel to London to watch Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral next week.

The state funeral will take place on Monday 19 September, which has been declared a bank holiday.

A number of viewing spots will be set up in and around London’s St James’s Park in order for people to watch the procession.

The full list of viewing areas is as follows:

• Green Park side of The Mall
• St James’s Park side of The Mall and Horse Guards Road
• Horse Guards Parade ground
• Whitehall (West), Parliament Street (West), and Great George Street
• Whitehall (East), Parliament Street (East), and Bridge Street

(Department of Culture, Media and Sport)

There are six train and Tube stations around the area where the procession will be taking place.

• Charing Cross – rail, and Bakerloo line
• Embankment – Bakerloo and Northern lines
• Green Park* – Jubilee, Piccadilly and Victoria lines (this station will only be open for exit and interchanges between lines from 10am until 8pm on both Monday and Tuesday)
• Piccadilly Circus – Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines
• Victoria* – rail, and Circle, District, and Victoria lines
• Westminster* – Circle, District, and Jubilee lines

Wheelchair users and those needing step-free access should use the stations marked with an asterisk, says Transport for London (TfL).

Until the day after the funeral (20 September), Green Park station has only been open for exits and transit journeys between 10am and 8pm – so you’ll be able to change from the Victoria to the Jubilee line, but not leave the station for ground level.

On Monday, members of the public will also be able to watch the funeral procession on big screens in Hyde Park, in dedicated areas which will open at 11am.

The state funeral will start at 9am, when the Big Ben bell will be hit with a hammer muffled with a leather pad.

Her Majesty’s coffin will be taken from Westminster Hall on a gun carriage to Westminster Abbey.

Members of the public queue on Westminster Bridge to pay their respects to the Queen (AFP via Getty Images)

About 2,000 people – including leaders, former heads of state, and royals from around the world – will be in attendance at the service, the first funeral held at the abbey since the 1700s.

The funeral cortege will arrive at Westminster Abbey at 11am, when there will be a minute’s silence around the country.

After the service, Her Majesty’s coffin will travel in procession to the Duke of Wellington Arch, behind Buckingham Palace.

At Buckingham Palace, it will be placed in a hearse for the journey to St George’s Chapel in Windsor – where her parents, the Queen Mother and King George VI are interred – for the committal service attended by the royal family.

The funeral will also be broadcast live on all UK television channels.

For five nights ahead of the funeral, the Queen will be lying-in-state in the Palace of Westminster, with people queuing for many hours to pay their respects to her in person.