Queen Elizabeth will be honoured with the first full state funeral since Churchill in 1965
One million mourners expected to descend on the capital to pay respects as late monarch lies in state
‘The funeral will attract one of the largest gatherings of world leaders in history’
‘She was the first British monarch to whom people all around the world could feel a personal and immediate connection’
THE body of Queen Elizabeth II will be transported 100 miles by road to Edinburgh from Balmoral tomorrow at the start of the journey back to London for the first full state funeral since the death of Winston Churchill in 1965. The late Queen will remain in Edinburgh for two nights before being flown back to the capital.
The public will have their first opportunity to pay their respects along a route, which is being finalised by Buckingham Palace in consultation with other authorities.
Under current plans, it is expected her body will be transported along the Royal Mile and spend one night at Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh’s Royal palace, before being moved to St Giles’ Cathedral for a special service attended on Monday by the King. The coffin will then be flown by plane on Tuesday evening to London ahead of the state funeral expected to take place in 10 days on Monday Sept 19th.
The full state funeral will attract one of the largest gatherings of world leaders in history. White House officials said President Joe Biden would attend, while heads of state from across Europe and the Commonwealth as well as royal families from around the globe will also be invited. It will also prompt what is likely to be the biggest single security operation the UK has ever staged with as many as 10,000 police officers deployed on the streets and all leave cancelled.
Hundreds of thousands of wellwishers will also descend on London to bid farewell to a monarch who had reigned for 70 years. The vast majority of the British public has never lived under another head of state.
The death of Queen Elizabeth at the age of 96 invoked Operation London Bridge, a complex series of coordinated events meticulously planned for decades. The 10-day plan commenced yesterday with a gun salute to the dead Queen and the new King’s televised address to the nation. The first day of the operation is known as D+0 with the funeral taking place on D+10, making the date of the state funeral Sept 19. Under the terms of the plan much of the details will be confirmed today on what is officially D+1.
Under Operation Unicorn, the part of Operation London Bridge in the event of the Queen passing away in Scotland, the coffin is expected to be taken by road to the Palace of Holyroodhouse where it will lie in rest in the throne room. The cortege is anticipated to leave Balmoral at 10am tomorrow for a journey that will give the public the first chance to at least catch a glimpse of the late Queen’s coffin.
At noon tomorrow, there will be a proclamation of the new King, a public statement confirming King Charles III’S accession to the throne, at Mercat Cross, the historic landmark next to St Giles’
‘The late Queen was one of my favourite people in the world’
Cathedral. The coffin will then pass down the Royal Mile in an afternoon procession that will likely attract huge crowds. The King is expected to arrive in Edinburgh on Monday lunchtime. His mother’s body will then be transported, according to plans still subject to revision, at 2.35pm from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles’ Cathedral where it will rest overnight.
According to briefings yesterday, the body of the Queen will be flown from Edinburgh to London on Tuesday evening, known as D+4. The body will then lie in state, an operation with its own name, Marquee.
Police expect more than a million people to descend on the capital to pay their respects during the period of mourning with huge queues anticipated to view the coffin, which will be on public view in Westminster Hall. Management of the queue alone has its own operation, in this case Operation Feather, and the queue is predicted to be three miles long. Under the plans, the public will be kept moving at all times with no mobile phones or recording equipment allowed.
The guest list for the state funeral held at Westminster Abbey will cause a headache for organisers with attendance limited to about 2,200 people.
There are currently more than 700 members alone of the Privy Council, the formal body of advisers to the monarch.
The White House said President Biden would travel to London. In tribute on Thursday, the President described the late Queen as a “stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy who deepened the bedrock alliance between the UK and US… She was the first British monarch to whom people all around the world could feel a personal and immediate connection”.
It is unclear if former presidents including Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Donald Trump will be invited, or indeed, attend. Anthony Albanese, Australia’s prime minister, has said he will be attending the state funeral along with the country’s governor-general.
Justin Trudeau, prime minister of Canada, who described the late Queen as “one of my favourite people in the world”, will also attend.
Following the state funeral in Westminster Abbey, which is anticipated to last one hour, starting with a two-minute silence at 11am, the coffin will be placed on a gun carriage and taken to Wellington Arch. From there it will be transferred to a state hearse and driven by road to Windsor Castle.
A committal service, attended by members of the Royal household, will take place that afternoon in St George’s Chapel followed by a private interment attended only by close family that evening. No cameras will be present at the third service.