English
London: Britain and the world is ready to bid a final goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II at a state funeral Monday that drew presidents and kings, princes and prime ministers and crowds who massed along the streets of London to honor a monarch whose 70-year reign defined an age. The chimes of the Big Ben fell silent and hymns rang out as the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II was carried into Westminster Abbey for the state funeral of Britain’s longest-serving monarch on Monday.
A day packed with events in London and Windsor began early when the doors of 900-year-old Westminster Hall were closed to mourners after hundreds of thousands had filed in front of her flag-draped coffin. Many had waited for hours in line, including through cold nights, to attend the lying in state in an outpouring of collective grief and respect.
Her son and heir King Charles III followed the coffin in solemn procession, accompanied by his sons Princes William and Harry and siblings Princess Anne and Princes Andrew and Edward.
In the congregation of around 2,000 guests made up of world leaders, royalty from the UK and overseas and community leaders, India was represented by President Droupadi Murmu.
William’s children, nine-year-old Prince George and seven-year-old Princess Charlotte were among the youngest members of the royal family who walked between their parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales.
King Charles III, Camilla, Queen Consort and other members of the Royal family follow the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II as it is carried into Westminster Abbey ahead of her State Funeral, in London (AP Photo)
The funeral will end with the Last Post trumpet salute before the church and the nation falls silent for two minutes, reported Reuters.
Afterwards, the coffin will be brought through central London, past the queen’s Buckingham Palace home to the Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner, with the monarch and the royal family following again on foot during the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) procession.
From there, it will be placed on a hearse to be driven to Windsor Castle, west of London, for a service at St. George’s Chapel. This will conclude with the crown, orb and sceptre – symbols of the monarch’s power and governance – being removed from the coffin and placed on the altar.
The Lord Chamberlain, the most senior official in the royal household, will break his ‘Wand of Office’, signifying the end of his service to the sovereign, and place it on the casket.
It will then be lowered into the royal vault as the Sovereign’s Piper plays a lament, slowly walking away until music in the chapel gradually fades.
Later in the evening, in a private family service, the coffin of Elizabeth and her husband of more than seven decades, Philip, who died last year aged 99, will be buried together at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, where her parents and sister, Princess Margaret, also rest.
Queen Elizabeth II, 96, died peacefully at her Scottish residence of Balmoral Castle on September 8.
(With agency inputs)
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