LONDON, September 16. /TASS/. The Buckingham Palace has revealed details of the funeral ceremony of Queen Elizabeth II, who died on September 8.
According to a statement released on Thursday, the Queen will be laid to rest at Windsor Castle grounds at 19:30 local time (21:30 Moscow time) on September 19.
Since September 14th, the coffin with the Queen’s body has remained in London’s Westminster Palace, where thousands of people are coming to pay last respects to her. They will have the opportunity to bid farewell to Elizabeth II until 06:30 local time (08:30 Moscow time) on September 19, when the funeral is to begin.
At approximately 10:35 local time (12:35 Moscow time) servicemen of the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards will lift the coffin and carry it in procession from to the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy, which will be positioned outside the north door of the Parliament building.
The State Gun Carriage has been removed from active service in 1901, and was in the funeral of Queen Victoria (1819-1901), King Edward VII (1841-1910), King George V (1865-1936), King George VI (1895-1952), Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874-1965), and Lord Louis Mountbatten (1900-1979). During the procession, the state gun carriage will be accompanied by 142 members of the Royal Navy.
The Procession will be led by military orchestras of the Scottish and Irish Regiments, the Brigade of Gurkhas, and the Royal Air Force numbering 200 musicians. Immediately following the coffin will be King Charles III, members of the royal family and members of the king’s household and the household of William, Prince of Wales. The procession is expected to reach the Westminster Abbey by 10:52 local time (12:52 Moscow time), with the state funeral service is to begin at 11:00 local time (13:00 Moscow time).
State Funeral Service
Doors of the Westminster Abbey will open for high-ranking guests at 08:00 local time (10:00 Moscow time). The heads of foreign states and governments, including governors-general of overseas realms, will gather at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea and travel to the Westminster Abbey under collective arrangements. The Russian delegation will not be present at the funeral.
The service will be conducted by Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. Prime Minister Liz Truss and Secretary General of the Commonwealth Patricia Scotland will read selected excerpts from the Holy Scripture, while Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will give a sermon.
Towards the end of the service, at approximately 11:55am, Last Post will sound, followed by a two-minute period of silence to be observed in the Abbey and throughout the United Kingdom. The national anthem will then be played, and the State Funeral Service is to end approximately at noon (14:00 Moscow time).
After that, the coffin will once again be placed upon the state gun carriage, positioned outside the West Gate to the Abbey. At around 12:15 (14:15 Moscow time), King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla, the prince and princess of Wales and other members of the royal family will walk in procession to Wellington Arch. At 13:00 (15:00 Moscow time), the coffin will be placed in the State Hearse for transportation to the Windsor Castle. Meanwhile, foreign leaders attending the ceremony will head to the Church House, where they will be received by UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.
Reunification with husband
The funeral procession is expected to arrive to Windsor approximately two hours later. At around. At around 15:00 local time (17:00 Moscow time), the coffin will be once again placed upon the state gun carriage, and royal family members, led by Charles III, will line up behind it.
The procession is to approach its final point, St. George Chapel, by 15:53 local time (17:53 Moscow time), and the committal service will begin at 16:00 local time (18:00 Moscow time), to be conducted by Dean of Windsor David Conner. Prior to the final hymn, the Imperial State Crown, the Orb and the Sceptre will be removed from the Coffin by the Crown Jeweller and will be passed to the dean who will place them on the altar. At the end of the final hymn, the King will place the Queen's Company Camp Colour of the Grenadier Guards on the Coffin. The Queen was their colonel in chief.
After that, the coffin will be lowered into the royal vault. The Archbishop of Canterbury will pronounce the final prayer, to be followed by the singing of God Save the King. At the conclusion of the service, all public events will be over.
Further events will be held privately. It is known that the Queen’s body is to be interred by 19:30 local time (21:30 Moscow time) in the memorial chapel of George VI, where the queen’s father and mother George VI (1895-1952) and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, as well as her sister Margaret (1930-2002), are also buried. Her spouse Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who died aged 99 last year, will be laid beside her some time after the funeral.