Buckingham Palace announced Thursday that Queen Elizabeth died “peacefully” at Balmoral Castle at age 96
Funeral arrangements for Queen Elizabeth have been unveiled.
On Saturday, Buckingham Palace announced that the late monarch will be honored with a state funeral on Monday, September 19 at Westminster Abbey in Central London. It will be the first time a monarch’s funeral has been held at Westminster Abbey since the 18th century.
The funeral will be followed by a committal at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor— where the Queen’s parents, sister Princess Margaret and beloved husband Prince Philip are laid to rest.
The Queen’s coffin is currently lying at rest in the Ballroom at Balmoral Castle, where family members and royal household staff have been paying their respects and quietly remembering the late Queen.
On Sunday, a group of loyal gamekeepers — “people who have known Her Majesty, it’s a personal connection,” a royal spokesperson says — will carry her coffin from the Ballroom out of the castle, to start its journey south to the Scottish capital of Edinburgh.
The drive, in a hearse, is estimated to take around six hours, royal officials said on Saturday. Once in Edinburgh, the Queen’s coffin will be taken to Holyroodhouse — where it’s set to arrive at about 4:00 p.m. local time, the Duke of Norfolk, the Earl Marshall announced.
On Monday, it will be taken from the Palace of Holyroodhouse at 2.35 p.m. in procession to St Giles’s Cathedral. The Queen’s coffin will lie at rest at St. Giles’s Cathedral until Tuesday, Sept. 13, when it will be flown to London, arriving at 8: 00 p.m.
On Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 2:22 p.m. the Queen’s coffin will be moved from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall for lying-in-state, which will end on the morning of the state funeral.
On the morning of the funeral, the coffin will begin its journey to Westminster Abbey — in a procession from the Palace of Westminster beginning at 10.44 am local time.
The news comes two days after the palace announced she died “peacefully” at age 96 at her beloved Balmoral Castle after her doctors said they were “concerned” for her health.
The Queen’s funeral will follow a week of ceremonial activities that will see King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla tour the United Kingdom.
Earlier Saturday, her eldest son and successor declared that the date of his mother’s funeral would be a bank holiday across the United Kingdom. Schools and businesses will be closed in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as a sign of respect.
Charles, 73, approved the move at his first meeting as monarch with the Privy Council. The new King convened with the group of advisors (including senior Cabinet ministers, judges and leaders of the Church of England) after the Accession Council officially proclaimed him monarch on Saturday morning.
The ceremony was held in the State Apartments of St. James’s Palace in London at 10 a.m. In a historic first, the rite was televised.
As Prince William and Queen Camilla watched on, a council clerk read, “The crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is solely and rightfully come to the Prince Charles Philip Arthur George.”
“We… do now hereby with one voice and consent of tongue and heart publish and proclaim that the Prince Charles Philip Arthur George is now by the death of our late Sovereign of happy memory become our only lawful and rightful liege lord, Charles III.”
The clerk ended with “God Save The King,” which was echoed by the 200 Privy Councillors, headed by former Prime Ministers including Boris Johnson, Tony Blair, David Cameron, and Gordon Brown.
Queen Elizabeth Had ‘No Fear of Death’ and ‘Hope in the Future,’ Archbishop of Canterbury Says
After the initial 10-minute-long ceremony wrapped, the Privy Council moved into the Throne Room where King Charles joined them.
Addressing the Council as Lords, Ladies, and Gentlemen, he made a “most sorrowful duty” of announcing the death of his “beloved Mother, The Queen.”
Praising his mother’s reign as “unequaled in its duration, its dedication and its devotion” Chares added that he hoped to follow her “inspiring example.”
“Even as we grieve, we give thanks for this most faithful life. I am deeply aware of this great inheritance and of the duties and heavy responsibilities of Sovereignty which have now passed to me,” he said in part. The historic two-part ceremony took only 40 minutes.
Though King Charles immediately rose in rank after his mother Queen Elizabeth’s death, the accession is not to be confused with the formal coronation.
Charles’ crowning ceremony is not immediately expected, and courtiers have not yet announced a date. The coronation for his mother was held 16 months after her accession on Feb. 6, 1952, following the sudden death of her father, King George VI.
In communications updated on Buckingham Palace’s website Friday, King Charles asked
the public to observe a period of royal mourning, effective immediately and lasting until one week after his mother’s funeral.
Flags will be flown at half-staff over royal residences throughout the period, and floral tributes will be allowed to rest at specified gates.
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